Mark stared at the picture on Liam's phone, then back at the two of them. He exhaled slowly, shaking his head.
"No."
Alex's expression stiffened. "No?"
"That's right," Mark said, his voice firm. "I'm not playing Sophie's games. I'm done."
For a moment, there was silence. Then Liam scoffed, crossing his arms. "I knew it. You're weak."
Mark's jaw tightened. "Weak? Because I won't let her control me?"
Alex's face twisted with irritation. "No, because you had a chance to be part of something bigger. But you'd rather stay small. Pathetic."
Liam chuckled darkly. "Sophie actually thought you had potential. Guess she was wrong."
Mark felt something inside him harden. He had trusted these two once. Thought of them as friends. And now, they weren't even trying to hide their disdain.
"You really believe all that, don't you?" Mark said, shaking his head. "That working for Sophie makes you powerful. That doing her dirty work gives you worth."
Alex's eyes flashed. "At least we're not wasting our time pretending to be something we're not."
Mark took a step back. "Neither am I."
Liam smirked. "Then you better stay out of our way."
Mark met their stares, unflinching. "Or what?"
Alex tilted his head. "You don't want to find out."
Mark let out a humorless laugh. "Funny. That's exactly what I was thinking about you."
He turned and walked away without another word. He didn't look back. He didn't need to.
Because now, he knew exactly where he stood.
As Mark walked away, his heart pounded in his chest. He wasn't afraid—no, he was done being afraid. But he wasn't naive either. Sophie wouldn't just let him go.
The cold night air bit at his skin as he stepped onto the empty street. His mind raced, replaying the conversation. Liam and Alex were too far gone. Whatever Sophie had promised them, they'd swallowed it whole.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, half-expecting a message from one of them. But the screen showed an unknown number.
Unknown: You made the right choice. But it's not over yet.
Mark frowned. He glanced around, scanning the darkened sidewalks, the parked cars, the flickering streetlights.
He typed back.
Mark: Who is this?
A few seconds passed. Then another message came through.
Unknown: Someone who knows what Sophie is planning. Someone who wants to stop it.
Mark's grip tightened on his phone. If this was a trap, it was a convincing one.
His gut told him he was about to be dragged even deeper into something he barely understood.
And for some reason, he texted back anyway.
Mark: I'm listening.
Mark stared at the screen, the name meant nothing to him.
Mark: Who the hell is Daniel Cross?
There was a long pause before the reply came.
Unknown: Me.
Mark's grip on the phone tightened. His first instinct was to toss it away, but curiosity held him still.
Mark: And why should I care?
Daniel: Because I know what Sophie is planning. And if you walk away now, you're going to regret it.
Mark exhaled sharply. This was ridiculous. He had spent too much time being dragged into other people's messes. Whatever Sophie was up to, it wasn't his problem anymore.
But if that were true, why couldn't he ignore the message?
Mark: I don't work for Sophie. I don't work for anyone. I'm done.
Daniel: That's what I said once too. But trust me, Mark. You're not done. You're just getting started.
Mark shook his head, his pulse quickening.
Mark: What do you want from me?
Daniel: Meet me. Tomorrow night. Warehouse 17, Pier Street. I'll show you exactly why walking away isn't an option.
Mark hesitated. This was insane. He had no reason to trust this guy. But something about the way Alex and Liam had spoken—so sure of themselves, so convinced they were part of something bigger—left an itch in his mind.
He needed to know.
Mark: Fine.
He locked his phone and shoved it in his pocket, exhaling a slow breath. He wasn't walking back into Sophie's world. He was just getting some answers.
At least, that's what he told himself.
Mark stared at Daniel, taking in the guy's worn hoodie and tired eyes. He didn't look like some hardened criminal or a mastermind. He looked like… well, like Mark. A college student who'd seen too much.
"You don't look like someone who'd be mixed up in all this," Mark said cautiously.
Daniel smirked. "Neither do you." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Look, I used to be where you are. Stuck in Sophie's little game, thinking it was just a way to get ahead. But then I realized the truth."
Mark frowned. "And what truth is that?"
"That the contract is a dead end," Daniel said simply. "You think working for Sophie gives you power? It doesn't. It just locks you in. Forever."
Mark's stomach twisted. He'd heard whispers about the contracts, the way people never really got out. But he hadn't wanted to believe it.
Daniel must have seen the doubt on his face because he pulled out his phone and slid it across the table. Mark glanced at the screen. It was an old email chain, buried under layers of encryption. The sender's name was blacked out, but the words hit hard.
"Once you sign, there's no exit. You either serve, or you disappear."
Mark clenched his jaw. "So how did you get out?"
Daniel hesitated. "Because I saw another way. A way out that actually works. Ever heard of Mortal Online?"
Mark blinked. "The game?"
Daniel nodded. "It's more than a game. It's a proving ground. A place where people like us—people who don't want to be owned—can build something real."
Mark leaned back, skeptical. "You're telling me you escaped Sophie by playing Mortal Online?"
Daniel chuckled. "Not exactly. But I saw potential in it. A system where power isn't given, it's earned. No contracts, no strings, just skill and strategy. I realized that if I was going to bet on something, I'd rather bet on myself than be someone's pawn."
Mark exhaled. "And now you're inviting me?"
Daniel's gaze was steady. "I'm seeing if you're like me… or if you're just another fool who thinks he can walk away without a plan."
Mark felt the weight of the decision settle on him.
Stay blind and hope Sophie forgot about him? Or take a gamble on something unknown?
He looked back at Daniel.
"...Tell me more."
Mark's breath hitched. He hadn't expected that.
His mind raced. Mortal Online. It was his backup plan, his escape route. He had spent months studying it, testing strategies, figuring out how he could turn it into something bigger. Something real.
But he had never told anyone.
His eyes snapped to Daniel. "How do you know about Mortal Online?"
Daniel smirked. "Because I did the same thing you did."
Mark stiffened. No way. No one else had seen it the way he did—no one else had looked at the game and understood its potential, not just as a game, but as something more.
Daniel leaned forward, elbows on the table. "You thought you were the only one, didn't you?"
Mark didn't answer. He didn't have to.
Daniel exhaled, shaking his head. "I get it. You figured out the contract is a dead end. You saw the trap. And instead of trying to fight Sophie directly, you started looking for another way." He tilted his head. "And you found Mortal Online."
Mark's pulse pounded in his ears. "How long have you known?"
"Long enough." Daniel's expression was unreadable. "The real question is—how long until Sophie knows?"
Mark went cold. He had always been careful, always kept his plans hidden. But if Daniel had figured it out, how much longer until Sophie did?
Daniel sat back. "That's why you're here, Mark. You can't just walk away. You need a real exit."
Mark's hands clenched into fists. He hated how right Daniel sounded.
"What are you offering?" Mark asked, voice low.
Daniel's smirk returned. "A way to turn Mortal Online into more than just an escape. A way to make it our battleground."
Mark inhaled slowly. He had thought he was ahead of the game. Now, he wasn't so sure.
But one thing was certain—he couldn't afford to ignore this.
Mark's mind reeled. Mortal Online—his way out, his last resort—was something Daniel had figured out too?But there was a difference. Mark had known about Mortal because of his past. The long nights spent buried in forums, the strategies he had honed over the years, the obsession that had started before he ever got involved with Sophie. It wasn't just a game to him. It was the only system he had ever found where control wasn't dictated by contracts, where power wasn't handed down but taken by those who knew how to play the game.But Daniel? He didn't have that same past. He had figured it out now, on his own.Mark's jaw tightened. "You didn't grow up with this. You didn't have Mortal as a backup plan from the start." He studied Daniel, watching his reaction. "So how the hell did you figure it out?"Daniel smiled slightly. "Because I looked at the system." He tapped the side of his head. "Same way I looked at Sophie's operation. The contracts, the power structures—it's all a game. A rigged one."Mark's pulse quickened. He had thought the same thing.Daniel continued, "I started thinking—if Sophie's world is a game, then what's the alternative? Where's the unrigged system? Something with stakes, but without a leash." He met Mark's eyes. "And then I found Mortal Online."Mark exhaled slowly. It made sense, in a way. Daniel wasn't like him, someone who had known about Mortal for years. Daniel had reached the same conclusion through knowledge, by studying Sophie's world and realizing where real power could be built."You built a plan from scratch," Mark murmured.Daniel nodded. "And you? You already knew. You saw it before I did."Mark clenched his fists. It was unsettling. He had always assumed he was alone in this. That no one else would ever see Mortal for what it really was.But now, sitting across from Daniel, he realized something else.If Daniel had figured it out…Then Sophie might, too.Mark met Daniel's stare, his voice steady. "So what do we do?"Daniel's smirk widened. "We stop playing Sophie's game." His eyes gleamed. "And we start playing ours."