Chapter 80: The Chairman

The man on the screen lifted his head.

Lucian forgot how to breathe.

Theo whispered—

"No."

The word barely carried across the archive.

But everyone heard it.

Allison looked from the screen to Lucian.

The resemblance wasn’t immediately obvious.

Charles Calloway was much older than the photographs she’d seen.

Thinner.

His silver hair had receded at the temples, and age had carved deep lines around his mouth.

But his eyes—

Those were Calloway eyes.

Dark.

Observant.

The kind that made you feel as though someone had already reached a conclusion about you before you’d finished speaking.

Allison had seen those eyes across breakfast tables.

Across conference rooms.

Beside her in bed when nightmares woke her.

But Lucian’s eyes had warmth beneath the calculation.

Charles’s had none.

The gold Calloway signet ring gleamed on his right hand.

The same ring Theo remembered from childhood.

The same hand that had apparently made dinosaur pancakes.

The same man whose funeral Lucian and Theo had attended eight years ago.

Charles Calloway smiled.

"Hello, Lucian."

Lucian didn’t answer.

Charles’s smile widened faintly.

"Theodore."

Theo stared at the screen.

"You died."

Charles tilted his head.

"Technically, no."

Theo blinked.

Then laughed.

Once.

Disbelieving.

"That’s your answer?"

"Theodore—"

"We buried you!"

Charles’s expression barely changed.

"You buried an empty casket."

"Oh, well, fantastic."

Theo threw both hands up.

"My mistake."

Simone moved closer to him.

Theo didn’t seem to notice.

"We cried over that casket."

"Theo."

Lucian’s voice was quiet.

Theo looked toward him.

Lucian’s face had become unreadable.

That frightened Allison more than Theo’s anger.

Charles looked at his eldest grandson.

"You’ve become exactly what I expected."

That did it.

Lucian stepped toward the monitor.

"Don’t."

Charles raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t what?"

"Talk to me like you know me."

"I’ve known you your entire life."

"You knew a file."

Charles’s smile faded.

Lucian’s voice hardened.

"You knew reports."

"School records."

"Psychological assessments."

"Whatever disgusting little summaries your people compiled."

"But you haven’t known me for eight years."

Charles leaned back.

"On the contrary."

A folder appeared in his hand.

Lucian went still.

Charles opened it.

"Lucian Alexander Calloway."

Allison felt him tense.

"Primary temperament: controlled."

"High analytical intelligence."

"Exceptional delayed gratification."

"Strong leadership instinct."

"Low social dependency."

"High familial loyalty despite outward emotional detachment."

Lucian’s jaw tightened.

Charles continued.

"Primary weakness—"

"Enough."

"Attachment."

Lucian stopped.

Charles looked directly at Allison.

"Specifically, once formed."

Silence.

Allison’s skin crawled.

Charles closed the folder.

"You rarely attach."

"But when you do..."

His eyes returned to Lucian.

"...you become irrationally protective."

Lucian stepped closer.

"If you’re trying to frighten her—"

"No."

Allison interrupted.

Everyone looked at her.

She walked toward the screen.

"Let him."

Lucian frowned.

"Allison."

"It’s okay."

Charles studied her.

Allison felt that gaze through the screen.

Cataloging.

Evaluating.

She hated it.

So she smiled.

"Hi, Charles."

One of his eyebrows lifted.

Nobody called Charles Calloway by his first name.

Apparently.

Theo’s mouth twitched.

Charles looked almost amused.

"Allison."

"You know, considering you’ve apparently been stalking me since before I had teeth, I expected something more impressive."

Roman made a strangled sound that might have been a laugh.

Susanna whispered—

"That’s my baby."

Adrian glanced at her.

"Definitely mine."

"Not now."

Charles didn’t react.

Allison continued.

"You fake your death."

"Build secret facilities."

"Manipulate families."

"Track children."

"And this is your big reveal?"

She gestured around the archive.

"A video call?"

Theo covered his mouth.

Simone whispered—

"Oh, she’s angry angry."

Lucian almost smiled.

Charles’s gaze sharpened.

"Humor as defensive displacement."

Allison’s smile disappeared.

"See?"

Charles frowned.

"See what?"

"You don’t know me."

"I know considerably more about you than you realize."

"No."

She stepped closer to the monitor.

"You know terminology."

"You know what some psychologist wrote after watching me."

"You know my schools."

"My relationships."

"My parents."

"You probably know what cereal I ate when I was seven."

Charles’s mouth curved.

"Frosted Flakes."

Allison stared.

"Okay, that’s creepy."

Theo muttered, "Deeply."

"But that’s exactly my point."

Allison folded her arms.

"You have data."

"That’s not the same as knowing somebody."

Charles regarded her for several seconds.

"You’re more confrontational than projected."

Roman laughed outright.

Aaron glanced toward him.

Roman shrugged.

"That’s hilarious."

Charles ignored him.

Allison caught the phrase.

Than projected.

There.

That word again.

Projected.

Predicted.

Modeled.

Genesis.

Legacy.

All of it.

The Consortium didn’t understand people.

It understood patterns.

And believed patterns were destiny.

Allison stored that thought away.

⸻

Charles looked toward Aaron.

"Mercer."

Aaron’s expression became glacial.

"Charles."

"I’ve watched your little crusade with considerable disappointment."

Aaron smiled.

"I’ve always wanted to disappoint you."

"You had potential."

"So everyone keeps telling me."

"You could have taken your place."

"My place?"

Aaron laughed.

"I spent twenty years dismantling your companies."

"And yet here I am."

Aaron’s smile vanished.

Charles continued.

"You attacked branches."

"Intermediaries."

"Disposable executives."

"Politicians who never knew who paid them."

"Shell companies designed to collapse."

"You thought you were hunting an organization."

Charles leaned toward the camera.

"You were pruning it."

That hurt.

Allison saw it.

Aaron didn’t move.

But something behind his eyes cracked.

Twenty years.

Twenty years of revenge.

And Charles was telling him it had accomplished nothing.

"No."

Allison said it quietly.

Charles looked toward her.

She hadn’t planned to intervene.

But she understood what Charles was doing.

He wasn’t explaining.

He was destabilizing.

One person at a time.

Lucian first.

Then Aaron.

Break confidence.

Create doubt.

Control the room.

Allison smiled.

"Aaron exposed Vivienne."

Charles’s expression changed slightly.

"He destabilized three financial networks."

"Two senators resigned."

"Your shell companies were exposed."

She looked toward Aaron.

"How many?"

Aaron understood.

"Twenty-seven."

Allison returned her attention to Charles.

"Twenty-seven."

"That’s a lot of pruning."

Charles stared.

Aaron slowly smiled.

Allison continued.

"And you faked your death."

She tilted her head.

"People who are winning don’t usually need funerals."

Roman barked a laugh.

Dorian grinned.

Even Harold looked impressed.

Charles’s eyes cooled.

There.

Allison felt it.

The first crack.

Tiny.

But real.

He didn’t like being contradicted.

More importantly—

He didn’t like having his narrative changed.

Interesting.

⸻

"Why me?"

Allison asked.

Charles’s expression returned to calm.

"You’re standing in an archive containing the answer."

"I want to hear yours."

"Why?"

"Because I want to know how you justify it."

A pause.

Then Charles sighed.

"The Consortium began long before Genesis."

"We know."

"Not as you understand it."

He folded his hands.

"My grandfather lived through war."

"Markets collapsed."

"Governments changed."

"Fortunes vanished."

"Entire industries disappeared."

"He believed civilization’s greatest weakness was unpredictability."

Roman scoffed.

"Sounds charming."

Charles ignored him.

"Politicians make emotional decisions."

"Markets panic."

"Families destroy fortunes through incompetent heirs."

"Institutions become unstable because leadership is selected by popularity rather than capability."

"So your solution was stalking children?" Simone asked.

Charles glanced toward her.

"And you are?"

Simone stared.

"Oh, absolutely not."

Theo touched her arm.

"Simone."

"No."

She stepped forward.

"You don’t get to kidnap people’s mothers and then ask who I am like I’m the rude one."

Theo looked at her.

"I adore you."

Simone froze.

Theo froze.

Everyone looked at them.

Theo cleared his throat.

"Poor timing."

"Extremely."

"Revisit later?"

"Maybe."

Charles looked mildly irritated.

Allison almost smiled.

Unpredictability.

Interesting.

Charles continued.

"The Consortium identified individuals likely to influence the next generation."

"Genesis refined the process."

"Legacy perfected it."

Allison’s smile disappeared.

"You call manipulating lives perfection?"

"I call preventing chaos responsible."

Susanna stepped forward.

"You manipulated me into meeting my husband."

"We created circumstances."

"You paid my friend to cancel."

"She was compensated."

Susanna stared.

"You’re lucky there’s a screen between us."

Adrian looked almost delighted.

Charles’s eyes shifted toward him.

"Adrian."

Adrian’s smile vanished.

"Don’t say my name."

"You’ve done well."

"Go to hell."

Charles sighed.

"I expected more maturity."

Adrian laughed.

"You kidnapped my wife to lure my daughter into an underground facility."

"I didn’t order Susanna’s kidnapping."

That stopped the room.

Aaron’s expression sharpened.

"Don’t."

Charles looked at him.

"Don’t what?"

"Rewrite this."

"I didn’t order it."

Elena’s voice suddenly came through the archive speakers.

"He’s telling the truth."

Everyone looked upward.

Allison frowned.

"What?"

Elena continued.

"Charles activated Allison’s Legacy file."

"But Susanna’s extraction came from a regional cell."

Aaron’s jaw tightened.

"Who?"

"Vivienne."

Allison froze.

Of course.

Vivienne Laurent-Cassel.

Even after everything.

Susanna looked sick.

"Why?"

Charles answered.

"Because Vivienne became desperate."

Aaron’s expression darkened.

"After I cut her access."

"Yes."

Charles seemed almost bored.

"She believed delivering Allison would restore her standing."

Adrian looked ready to kill someone.

"Where is she?"

Charles smiled.

"Currently?"

A pause.

"Under arrest."

Everyone stared.

Aaron frowned.

"By whom?"

"Federal authorities."

Harold’s head snapped up.

Charles looked at him.

"Not your division."

Harold’s face hardened.

Allison stepped forward.

"You’re cleaning house."

Charles looked at her.

Finally—

approval.

"Very good."

The compliment disgusted her.

"You let Vivienne take the fall."

"Vivienne made choices."

"Choices you created circumstances for."

Charles smiled faintly.

"You’ve been listening."

Allison’s stomach turned.

He used the same language Lucian had used to comfort her.

Except Charles meant it differently.

People were responsible for choices.

But Charles believed that meant manipulating their circumstances was morally irrelevant.

That was his entire philosophy.

Create the board.

Let people move.

Claim innocence.

⸻

Lucian stepped forward.

"Why Allison?"

Charles looked at him.

"Because she’s exceptional."

"That’s not an answer."

"Her mother possesses remarkable pattern recognition."

"Her father has extraordinary strategic discipline."

Adrian rolled his eyes.

"Please don’t compliment me."

"Roman’s influence added adaptive survival behavior."

Roman frowned.

"My influence?"

"You trained her."

Allison looked toward Roman.

He didn’t deny it.

Charles continued.

"Susanna gave her empathy."

"Adrian gave her command."

"Roman gave her suspicion."

Aaron’s gaze moved toward Allison.

Charles continued.

"Anthony gave her pain."

Lucian’s face changed.

Allison’s did too.

Charles didn’t care.

"And pain accelerated what childhood privilege might otherwise have softened."

The words hit her like a slap.

Lucian moved.

Allison caught his arm.

"No."

"Allison—"

"No."

She looked at Charles.

"Say that again."

Charles didn’t hesitate.

"Anthony accelerated your development."

"You mean abusing me made me better."

"I mean adversity—"

"No."

Her voice cut through his.

"Say the actual words."

Charles stared.

"You benefited from adversity."

Allison laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because she suddenly understood him.

Really understood him.

"You don’t understand people at all."

Charles frowned.

"You spent decades studying us."

She shook her head.

"And you still don’t get it."

"Explain."

"You think surviving something means the thing was useful."

Charles’s expression remained still.

Allison stepped closer.

"Anthony didn’t make me strong."

"He hurt me."

"I became strong because I chose to get up afterward."

Lucian’s eyes softened.

Susanna covered her mouth.

Allison continued.

"You don’t get to give the person who broke the glass credit because someone else learned how to put it back together."

Silence.

Even Aaron looked at her differently.

Charles said nothing.

Allison nodded slowly.

"That’s your problem."

"My problem?"

"You keep confusing observation with understanding."

There it was again.

That flicker of irritation.

Allison saw it.

And this time—

she smiled.

⸻

Lucian looked toward the archive shelves.

"What is Prime?"

Charles’s expression changed.

The question mattered.

"Leadership eligibility."

Harold had been right.

Allison folded her arms.

"For the Consortium?"

"Yes."

Theo laughed.

"Oh, this is getting ridiculous."

Charles ignored him.

"Prime candidates are rare."

"How rare?" Allison asked.

"Three living candidates."

"Who?"

Charles paused.

"You."

Allison waited.

"Lucian."

Her head snapped toward him.

Lucian looked unsurprised.

Almost resigned.

"And?"

Charles smiled.

"The third declined."

Roman’s expression changed.

"Who?"

Charles looked toward the speaker.

Elena answered.

"Me."

Silence.

Aaron closed his eyes.

Of course.

Elena.

Allison looked upward.

"You were Prime?"

"Apparently."

"Why didn’t you tell us?"

"I’ve had a complicated month."

Roman laughed despite himself.

Elena continued.

"They wanted me twenty years ago."

"I refused."

"And they tried to kill you," Allison whispered.

Charles corrected her.

"No."

Everyone looked at him.

"They tried to contain her."

Roman stepped toward the screen.

"She was shot."

"Not by Consortium personnel."

"She almost burned alive."

"An unauthorized response."

Roman laughed coldly.

"You have a bureaucratic phrase for everything."

Charles sighed.

"It doesn’t change the facts."

"No."

Roman stared into the screen.

"It just makes you easier to hate."

⸻

Allison looked between herself and Lucian.

Two Prime candidates.

A Croft.

A Calloway.

Suddenly—

The bonus photograph returned to her mind.

IF THE CROFT MATCH FAILS, USE CALLOWAY.

Not about her.

About Susanna.

But generations later—

Here they were.

Croft and Calloway.

Together anyway.

She looked at Charles.

"You wanted Lucian to replace you."

Charles said nothing.

Lucian answered.

"Yes."

Allison turned.

"You knew?"

"Not this."

Lucian’s jaw tightened.

"But my grandfather started preparing me for something when I was fourteen."

Theo looked hurt.

"What?"

Lucian glanced at him.

"I thought it was the family company."

Charles finally spoke.

"You were exceptional."

Lucian’s expression became disgusted.

"Stop saying that like it belongs to you."

"You were supposed to become Chairman."

"No."

"You would have been excellent."

"No."

"You don’t even know what you’re rejecting."

Lucian smiled.

"I know enough."

Charles leaned forward.

"Billions in controlled assets."

"Political influence on four continents."

"Private intelligence networks."

"Companies governments depend on without realizing it."

Theo whispered—

"That’s..."

Lucian looked at him.

Theo swallowed.

"...a lot."

Charles continued.

"You could change things."

Lucian’s eyes hardened.

"You mean control them."

"Sometimes those are the same."

"No."

Charles sighed.

"You always were idealistic beneath all that cynicism."

Lucian laughed.

"And you always mistook cynicism for obedience."

Charles’s expression cooled.

Then he looked at Allison.

"You understand."

Lucian immediately turned toward her.

Charles continued.

"Don’t you?"

Allison stared.

"You’ve spent your entire life watching incompetent people retain power simply because they inherited it."

"You’ve seen what money can accomplish."

"What influence can protect."

"Imagine controlling the machinery rather than being crushed beneath it."

Allison said nothing.

Charles smiled.

"Your mother would never be kidnapped again."

Adrian’s face hardened.

"Careful."

"Your future children would never be vulnerable."

Lucian went completely still.

Charles saw it.

Of course he did.

"Nobody could touch them."

Allison’s stomach twisted.

Future children.

Safety.

Family.

He knew exactly where to press.

Charles leaned closer.

"You’ve spent your life reacting to other people’s decisions."

"Anthony."

"Vivienne."

"Aaron."

"Your parents."

"Even Lucian."

Lucian flinched.

Charles continued.

"For once, you could be the person making the decisions."

Allison stared at him.

And for one terrible second—

she understood the temptation.

Not the money.

She had money.

Not power.

Not really.

Safety.

No one touching Clara.

No one kidnapping Susanna.

No one using Lucian.

No one ever making Allison feel helpless again.

She could control the board.

Every piece.

Every threat.

Every possibility.

Then—

Her mother touched her shoulder.

Allison looked back.

Susanna didn’t say anything.

She didn’t need to.

Safe if you think.

Allison turned toward Charles.

"That’s what you told Aaron."

Aaron froze.

Charles’s face changed.

Allison looked at him.

"You offered him control."

Aaron said nothing.

"You told him if he joined you, he could prevent another Elena."

Aaron closed his eyes.

Allison knew.

"You almost said yes."

Roman looked toward Aaron.

Aaron whispered—

"Yes."

No excuses.

No lies.

Charles smiled.

"Because Aaron understood."

"No."

Allison looked at Aaron.

"He was grieving."

She returned her attention to Charles.

"You prey on fear."

"I offer solutions."

"You create the fear first."

Charles didn’t answer.

There.

Another crack.

⸻

Allison walked toward the black leather ledger.

For twenty years, people had killed for it.

Lied for it.

Destroyed families for it.

She placed her hand on the cover.

Aaron watched.

Roman watched.

Charles watched through the screen.

"What’s in here?"

Charles smiled.

"Open it."

Allison looked at him.

"No."

His smile faded.

She lifted the ledger.

Heavy.

Old.

"What’s in it?"

"History."

"Evidence?"

"Some."

"Names?"

"Many."

"Your name?"

Silence.

Allison smiled.

"There."

Charles frowned.

"There’s what?"

"The first thing you’re afraid of."

Nobody moved.

Allison turned toward Elias.

"Can we copy this archive?"

His eyes widened.

"Potentially."

"How long?"

"All of it?"

"Everything."

He looked around.

"Hours."

"Can we send portions externally?"

Charles’s voice hardened.

"Allison."

She ignored him.

Elias looked at the network.

"If I can establish a secure uplink."

"Can you?"

"Probably."

"Do it."

Charles leaned forward.

"That would be a mistake."

Allison looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because you don’t understand what you’re releasing."

"Then explain it."

"Governments would fall."

"Which ones?"

"Markets could collapse."

"Which companies?"

"People could die."

"Which people?"

Charles’s jaw tightened.

Allison smiled.

"Specifics, Charles."

Silence.

Roman understood.

He slowly smiled.

Allison continued.

"You love vague consequences."

"Chaos."

"Instability."

"People dying."

"Because if you make the threat big enough, nobody asks you to prove it."

Charles’s face hardened.

"You’re being reckless."

"No."

Allison tapped the ledger.

"I’m thinking."

Safe if you think.

She turned toward Elena’s speaker.

"Elena."

"Yes?"

"If we release everything, innocent people get exposed too."

"Yes."

Charles smiled.

Allison ignored him.

"So we don’t release everything."

Aaron’s eyes sharpened.

"We curate it."

Allison nodded.

"Evidence against leadership."

"Financial crimes."

"Kidnappings."

"Bribery."

"Surveillance."

"Anything proving the Consortium exists."

Harold stepped forward.

"Send different packages."

Allison looked at him.

He continued.

"Never one recipient."

"Federal prosecutors."

"International regulators."

"Journalists."

"Financial authorities."

"Different evidence to each."

Dorian understood.

"So nobody can bury all of it."

Aaron smiled.

"And nobody knows who has what."

Roman looked toward Allison.

"Beautiful."

Charles’s voice became colder.

"You think this ends with exposure?"

Allison looked at him.

"No."

"Then what?"

"Accountability."

"You can’t prosecute an idea."

"No."

She smiled.

"But we can prosecute people."

⸻

Lucian moved toward Elias.

"I can get us external servers."

Charles stared at him.

"Lucian."

He ignored his grandfather.

Theo joined him.

"I know three journalists."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?"

Theo shrugged.

"I have a social life."

Simone stared.

"That’s your qualification?"

"One of them hates our family."

Lucian nodded.

"Perfect."

Adrian stepped forward.

"I have counsel in six jurisdictions."

Susanna smiled.

"I know two former federal judges."

Harold sighed.

"I know several current ones."

Dorian shrugged.

"I know criminals."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?"

He frowned.

"Suddenly my contacts aren’t useful?"

Roman smiled.

"I know everybody’s secrets."

Aaron looked at him.

"I know the secrets you missed."

Roman’s smile widened.

"There’s the unbearable bastard I remember."

For the first time—

They weren’t reacting.

They were building something.

Together.

Not because a file told them to.

Not because Genesis predicted it.

Because they chose to.

Allison looked around.

Her family.

Her strange, dysfunctional, traumatized, occasionally homicidal extended family.

And she almost laughed.

Charles watched from the screen.

His expression darkened.

He was losing the room.

Allison saw it.

And now she knew exactly what bothered him.

Uncontrolled cooperation.

People making decisions he hadn’t predicted.

So Allison decided to give him one more.

She turned toward Aaron.

"Give me your network."

Silence.

Aaron stared.

"My what?"

"Everything."

Roman’s eyebrows rose.

Allison continued.

"Contacts."

"Servers."

"Safe houses."

"Financial accounts."

"Informants."

"Everything you built as the Architect."

Aaron looked at Charles.

Then at Allison.

"Why?"

"Because we’re going to use it to destroy the Consortium."

Charles laughed.

"Do you really think Aaron will surrender twenty years of power to a twenty-two-year-old girl?"

Allison looked at Aaron.

She didn’t argue.

Didn’t persuade.

Didn’t beg.

She simply waited.

Aaron stared at her.

Then—

slowly reached into his pocket.

Removed a black phone.

Placed it in Allison’s hand.

Charles stopped smiling.

Aaron said quietly—

"Password is Elena."

Roman stared.

Elena’s voice came through the speaker.

"Oh, for God’s sake."

Aaron almost smiled.

"I was grieving."

"For twenty years?"

"I commit."

Roman groaned.

"This is somehow worse than when I thought you were trying to kill me."

Allison held the phone.

The Architect’s network.

Twenty years of secrets.

Given willingly.

Charles’s expression had finally changed.

Not irritation.

Not disappointment.

Fear.

Small.

Controlled.

But unmistakable.

Allison saw it.

And smiled.

"There you are."

Charles stared.

"What?"

"The man behind the file."

She held up the phone.

"You didn’t predict that."

He said nothing.

"You thought Aaron would choose power."

Silence.

"You thought Lucian would choose legacy."

Silence.

"You thought my father would choose control."

Adrian folded his arms.

"You thought Roman would choose revenge."

Roman’s expression changed.

"You thought Elena would stay hidden."

Her voice came softly through the speaker.

"And you thought I’d choose safety."

Allison stepped closer to the monitor.

"You got every single one of us wrong."

Charles’s jaw tightened.

Allison smiled.

"So here’s my prediction."

The archive fell silent.

"We’re going to take your money."

Charles’s eyes narrowed.

"Your companies."

"Your politicians."

"Your secrets."

"Your protection."

"We’re going to drag the Consortium into daylight so thoroughly that people will argue about your crimes on morning television."

Theo whispered—

"She’s terrifying."

Simone smiled.

"I know."

Allison continued.

"And when it’s over..."

Her voice softened.

"...nobody is going to remember Charles Calloway as the man who controlled generations."

Charles stared at her.

"They’re going to remember you as the old man who lost to the children he thought he owned."

The screen went black.

Nobody spoke.

Then—

Theo slowly clapped.

Once.

Twice.

Roman joined.

Simone joined.

Dorian.

Susanna.

Allison stared at them.

"Seriously?"

Roman smiled.

"That was excellent."

Adrian looked deeply proud.

Lucian walked toward her.

He didn’t clap.

He simply stopped in front of her.

"Tuesday."

Her expression softened.

"Tuesday."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Then Elias interrupted.

"I hate to ruin this."

Everyone turned.

His face was pale.

"What?" Roman asked.

Elias looked at his tablet.

"Charles terminated the connection."

Aaron shrugged.

"Expected."

"That’s not the problem."

Allison’s stomach tightened.

"What is?"

Elias turned the screen toward them.

The archive network map glowed across it.

One external connection remained.

Active.

Moving massive amounts of data.

Someone else was already inside.

Aaron frowned.

"Charles?"

Elias shook his head.

"No."

"Then who?"

Elias stared at the transfer.

"They’re copying the Consortium archive."

Roman’s weapon came up.

Allison’s heart dropped.

"No more masterminds."

Everyone looked at her.

She pointed at the screen.

"I mean it."

Theo blinked.

"Are you... telling the conspiracy it’s not allowed to expand?"

"Yes."

Despite everything, Lucian laughed.

Then Elena spoke through the speaker.

"Relax."

Everyone froze.

Elias looked upward.

"That’s you?"

"Yes."

Aaron stared.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure Charles can’t erase it before you idiots figure out how to leave the mountain."

Roman smiled.

"There’s my girl."

Silence.

Roman realized what he’d said.

Aaron looked at him.

Roman looked at Aaron.

"Don’t."

Aaron smiled.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were thinking loudly."

Elena sighed.

"Twenty years and you’re both still exhausting."

Allison laughed.

A real one this time.

Good.

No new mastermind.

No new organization.

No new hidden enemy.

Just Charles.

The Consortium.

And the people finally ready to bring both down.

Then Elena’s voice softened.

"Roman."

His smile disappeared.

"Yeah?"

"I’m ready."

He stopped breathing.

"For what?"

A pause.

Then—

"To come home."

Roman closed his eyes.

Aaron looked away.

Susanna began crying.

And Allison understood.

The war wasn’t over.

Not yet.

But for the first time—

they weren’t running toward another mystery.

They were running toward the end of one.