73. Sienna
Sienna
“ N o…”
The word tears out of me.
On the monitor, the little girl shakes the boy desperately.
Crying.
Begging him to wake up.
But he doesn’t move.
The flatline keeps screaming through the speakers.
And Elias Kade watches it happen with absolute calm.
Like a man observing weather.
Something inside me fractures.
Jonah turns toward him slowly.
Deadly calm.
Oh God.
I’ve seen trained operatives angry before.
I’ve seen violence.
Rage.
War.
This isn’t that.
This is colder.
More final.
Kade sees it too.
For the first time since he walked into this room—
His confidence shifts slightly.
Just slightly.
But enough.
“You killed him,” Jonah says quietly.
Kade doesn’t answer.
“You murdered a child to prove a point.”
“A necessary demonstration.”
The second the words leave his mouth—
Jonah moves.
Fast.
Too fast for anybody to stop.
He slams Kade across the room hard enough concrete explodes from the wall on impact.
Kade crashes into the floor.
Cal curses sharply.
“Jonah!”
But Jonah’s already on him.
Fist.
Impact.
Blood sprays across the concrete.
Another hit.
Another.
Kade tries to rise—
Jonah drives him back down brutally.
Pure violence.
Pure fury.
And honestly?
Part of me wants him to keep going.
Because that little boy is dead.
Because sixteen children are trapped underground.
Because Elizabeth has spent four years living in terror.
Because Kade deserves worse than death.
But then—
The monitors suddenly flash red again.
WARNING: PRIMARY KEY HOLDER VITALS DESTABILIZING
The countdown drops instantly.
00:03:51
“No!” I scream.
Jonah freezes.
Breathing hard.
Blood across his knuckles.
Kade coughs harshly beneath him.
Laughing.
Actually laughing.
“There he is,” Kade rasps through blood. “I was wondering when the monster would finally come out.”
Jonah looks like he wants to rip his throat out with his bare hands.
Instead—
He forces himself backward.
Barely.
The self-control nearly kills him.
Kade slowly pushes himself upright.
Bleeding now.
One eye swelling.
Lip split open.
And somehow—
That almost makes him look more dangerous.
Because now the mask is slipping.
The calm facade cracking just enough to reveal what’s underneath.
Obsession.
Sienna.
Oracle.
Control.
He wipes blood from his mouth slowly.
Then looks at me again.
“You still don’t understand what you created.”
“I created nothing like you.”
“You created evolution.”
“You turned children into experiments!”
“They’re survivable losses.”
Cal visibly recoils.
Even Lance looks sick now.
Vale stares at Kade with naked hatred.
And suddenly I realize something horrifying.
Vale really was afraid of him.
All this time.
All these years.
Kade steps toward me slowly.
Jonah instantly moves between us again despite the countdown risk.
Kade smiles faintly.
“She always did choose protectors.”
“She never chose you. You kidnapped her and made her work for you because you had her sister.” Jonah growls. “You will die before this day is over.”
Something dangerous flashes across Kade’s face then.
Jealousy.
Real jealousy.
And suddenly—
I understand.
Oh God.
This was never just about Oracle.
Never just about control.
Kade doesn’t see me as a partner.
He sees me as something he owns.
The realization makes my skin crawl.
“You don’t love anyone,” I whisper.
Kade’s eyes lock onto mine.
“You’re wrong.”
“No.” My voice sharpens. “You don’t love people. You possess them.”
The words hit.
Hard.
For the first time—
Kade actually looks angry.
Good.
The countdown flashes again.
00:03:12
Three minutes.
Three minutes until seventeen children die.
Then suddenly—
Vale lunges for the terminal.
His hands fly across the keyboard so fast even I struggle to follow.
“What are you doing?” Lance snaps.
Vale doesn’t look up.
“Kade tied the authorization chain to his vitals.”
“Yes, we KNOW that!”
“No,” Vale says sharply. “You don’t.”
He finally looks at me.
And terror crashes through his face.
“He didn’t make himself the only primary key holder.”
Cold floods my veins.
“No…”
Vale turns the monitor toward us.
A second biometric signal appears beside Kade’s.
Linked.
Integrated.
Active.
Elizabeth.
My stomach drops completely.
Kade smiles through bloody teeth.
“If I die,” he says softly, “so does she.”