Aurora had always felt the difference between a storm and a war. Storms passed. Wars didn't. They left marks. Carved legacies in blood, bone, and silence. The silence after Barcelona, after the video of Mateo and the warning that "Phase two begins when the heir is dead," was the kind that foretold war.
She stood at the window of Damien's study in the Hudson estate, eyes tracing the shape of the old black oak outside. The night was thick, humming with insects and tension. Noah was asleep upstairs, surrounded by the tightest security team Damien could assemble. But even armed guards and firewalls couldn't protect them from betrayal. Not anymore.
Damien entered the room quietly, holding two mugs of coffee. The weight of the last few days had settled into his shoulders, hardening his usual confident posture. He looked tired, but more dangerous for it—like a man who had stopped hoping for peace and was preparing for the siege.
"You're awake," he said softly, offering her the mug.
"Couldn't sleep," Aurora replied, taking it with a small nod of gratitude.
"Neither could I." He paused. "The team went over the footage again. Whoever met with Mateo knew the blind spot in the CCTV system. That means they had internal knowledge. Possibly ex-Aegis."
Aurora looked at him over the rim of her mug. "You think it's someone I knew."
"Not just someone you knew. Someone who knew you. Intimately."
The implication settled between them.
There weren't many people who fit that bill.
She turned back to the window. "There's a name I haven't said in years."
"Say it."
"Selene."
Damien stiffened.
"Selene was my partner in the Aegis," Aurora said slowly, deliberately. "We trained together. Operated in the field together. She was my best friend."
"What happened?"
"She died. At least… I thought she did. There was an op in Prague. It went south. I watched a building collapse with her inside. But her body was never found."
Damien set down his coffee. "You think Selene is alive."
Aurora hesitated. "I think she hated me enough to fake her death and wait for the right moment to strike."
By morning, the estate was on lockdown. Maxwell had tripled the number of guards and initiated a global search on Selene's last known movements. But finding a ghost wasn't easy.
Noah sensed the tension.
At breakfast, he looked between Aurora and Damien, then asked with innocent clarity, "Are you two mad at each other?"
Aurora blinked. "No, sweetheart. Why would you ask that?"
"Because you both look like you're thinking too hard about scary stuff."
Damien leaned down and ruffled his son's hair. "We are thinking hard. But not about each other. About how to keep you safe."
Noah frowned. "Is it because of that lady on the video? The one who wants to hurt me?"
Aurora's heart sank. She reached out and cupped his face. "No one is going to hurt you, Noah. I promise."
"Are you going to tell me the truth now?" he asked.
Aurora glanced at Damien. A silent agreement passed between them.
It was time.
They sat with Noah in the sunroom. Aurora held his small hand while Damien sat across, his voice low and steady.
"Noah," Damien began, "we have something important to tell you."
Noah looked at him curiously.
"I'm not just someone helping your mom. I… I'm your dad."
The words hit like a ripple across the boy's face. First confusion, then dawning surprise.
"You mean… for real?"
Aurora nodded, her eyes glistening. "Yes, baby. For real."
"But… why didn't you tell me before?"
Aurora took a breath. "Because I was scared. Scared that if anyone knew, they would try to take you away."
Noah looked at Damien. "Are you going to stay with us now? Like a real family?"
Damien's voice cracked slightly. "If you'll let me, yes."
Noah smiled. "Cool. Can we go to the science museum together? They have robots."
Damien chuckled. "Absolutely."
That evening, they received a message.
Encrypted. Coordinates.
Selene wanted to meet.
She gave a location: Istanbul.
Aurora stared at the screen. Her heart pounded with a mix of dread and determination.
"This is it," she whispered. "She's coming out of the shadows."
"She wants you to come alone," Damien said.
"She knows I won't."
Damien stood beside her. "Then let's finish this. Together."
Istanbul, Three Days Later
The city buzzed with chaotic charm—ancient buildings woven between modern sprawl, markets bleeding color and noise. But the coordinates Selene had sent led them far from the tourist paths. To an abandoned Ottoman-era fortress at the edge of the Bosphorus.
Aurora stood in tactical gear, Damien at her side, Maxwell and a small team flanking them. The air was heavy with the scent of salt and stone.
Inside the fortress was dark. Silent.
They entered carefully.
"Five heat signatures," Maxwell whispered. "Two stationary. Three circling."
"She's watching us," Aurora muttered.
A light flickered on above the throne-like chair at the far end of the hall.
And there she was.
Selene.
Alive. Beautiful. Deadlier than memory.
"Hello, Aurora," she said, voice like velvet over steel.
Aurora stepped forward, gun drawn but lowered. "Why, Selene? Why all of this?"
Selene smiled slowly. "Because you left me to die. And because your son carries the last key."
"Key to what?"
"The Helix Project."
Damien froze. "What did you say?"
Selene looked at him. "Your father helped create it. Genetic encryption for legacy power. Your bloodline and Aurora's. Your son is the convergence."
Aurora felt the ground shift beneath her.
"You planned this from the beginning," she said.
"Oh, Aurora," Selene said. "This is just the beginning."
Gunfire erupted.