Chapter 63 Breach

• The vault door groaned, the sound sharp and metallic as sparks rained from its reinforced hinges. Every strike from the outside reverberated like the beat of a war drum, drawing nearer, louder, relentless. The air grew heavier, thick with smoke from detonations echoing in the distance, mingling with the sterile metallic scent of the safehouse.
• Ivy stood at Damien’s side, her fists clenched at her sides though the tremor in her fingers betrayed her nerves. The last shreds of her fear didn’t come from the threat outside—it came from the man in front of her. Damien, his jaw clenched, his broad shoulders taut beneath his black shirt, exuded the kind of stillness that wasn’t calm but lethal focus. He was not afraid. He was preparing to kill.
• Matteo barked orders into his earpiece, coordinating guards still fighting in the upper levels. But the strain in his voice betrayed the truth—they were losing ground. The enemy’s advance was too calculated, too precise. This wasn’t chaos. It was Lucien.