Margaret’s smile slowly faded as Dylan’s words settled over the tower, and for a brief moment the cold wind seemed to grow sharper around them while the battlefield below continued roaring with gunfire, growls, and the violent flashing of the laser weapons cutting through the night.

"You speak very boldly for someone standing in another family’s fortress," Margaret said softly, her gaze resting on Dylan without blinking.

Dylan’s expression did not change. "I am speaking boldly because this fortress is currently under attack, and because the people standing on this wall are not dying so you can settle personal grudges."

The corner of Enzo’s lips lifted faintly despite the gun still pressed against his head. "Careful, Dylan, she might accuse you of poisoning the old man too."

Margaret’s gaze snapped toward Enzo, her eyes darkening instantly. "You really do not know when to keep your mouth shut."

"I know when silence becomes dangerous," Enzo replied, his voice still strained from the position he was forced into. "And right now, your silence would get people killed.

Stefan clenched his jaw as he stared at the battlefield below, his breathing still uneven. The monsters kept throwing themselves toward the barricades without fear, and every flash of bluish-white light only revealed how many more were still coming from the darkness.

"Where is Ida?" Stefan asked again, his voice lower this time but no less sharp. "You dragged me here to kill me, yet you still haven’t answered me."

Margaret clicked her tongue and turned away from him, as if his concern was nothing more than an irritating noise beside her ear. "Your woman is not my concern."

Stefan’s head turned toward her so fast that the soldier behind him tightened his grip.

Dylan glanced at him, his voice calm and cold. "She was taken to the medical sector."

The tension in Stefan’s shoulders loosened for only half a second before it returned twice as strong. "And have you heard about Tina and Jack."

"No news, not even from the commander." Dylan said, although he frowned slightly. He had not heard from Chris, and every nerve inside him was about to explode from worry.

Stefan’s lips parted slightly, but no sound came out. His hands clenched into fists on the tower floor, and the metal device around his neck suddenly felt heavier than before, as if it was choking him. "Take this thing off me," he said through gritted teeth. "Take it off and let me go."

Margaret laughed softly. "So you can run away?"

"So I can find a child... your niece!" Stefan shouted, his voice tearing through the tower so sharply that even some of the soldiers flinched.

Below them, Captain Rowan’s voice thundered over the gunfire. "Second line, move forward! Don’t let them break the truck formation!"

The soldiers at the barricade changed immediately, some dragging fresh ammunition crates forward while others replaced those whose guns had overheated. One of the war trucks shook violently as a monster slammed into its side, and two soldiers on top lost their footing before another laser beam shot downward and burned through the monster’s skull, its body collapsing against the vehicle with black blood spraying over the metal.

Margaret watched the soldiers respond to Rowan’s orders without hesitation, and the sight made her fingers curl tighter beside her. She was standing above them as acting commander, yet every command that mattered came from someone else.

A soldier hurried onto the platform, his face slick with sweat despite the cold wind. "Acting-Commander Margaret, Captain Rowan says the eastern barricade needs more grenades, and Enzo’s men are moving civilians into the basement shelters."

Margaret turned slowly toward him. "Enzo’s men are doing what?"

The soldier lowered his head immediately. "They are leading the residents to the basement for safety."

Margaret’s nonchalant expression disappeared completely. "Why wasn’t I told?"

The soldier stiffened.

Margaret took a step toward him. "Or do they now believe they are the commander?"

The soldier’s lips moved slightly, and though his voice barely came out, Enzo still heard it from where he knelt.

"Since you don’t care about the people, let those who care lead..."

The tower went silent for a brief second.

Margaret’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Repeat that."

The soldier’s face drained of color immediately. "I said... since the situation outside is uncertain, you and Patriarch Wayne should be somewhere safe."

Margaret stared at him for several seconds, her expression so still that the soldier’s breathing became visibly strained.

Enzo let out a faint scoff. "At least he knows how to save himself after almost dying."

Margaret’s gaze returned to him, and this time there was no smile on her face. "You are very confident for a man kneeling with a gun behind his head."

"And you are very loud for someone nobody is listening to," Enzo replied.

The soldier behind him struck his shoulder with the butt of his gun, forcing Enzo forward, but Enzo only clenched his teeth and swallowed the pain.

Stefan turned toward Margaret again. "If you want control so badly, then act like someone worth following. People are dying outside, Ida is barely alive, Tina is missing, and you are here trying to execute us so you can feel secure."

Margaret’s chest rose and fell slowly. Every word from them landed exactly where it hurt, not because she cared about their opinion, but because the soldiers around them were hearing it.

Dylan stepped slightly forward. "End this argument later. Right now, release them to fight or keep them alive until the battle is over. Anything else is foolish."

Margaret’s eyes moved from Dylan to the Lennox soldiers behind him, then to the Wayne soldiers around the tower. She could see the hesitation in their faces. She could see the way they avoided her gaze. They were not openly disobeying her, but they were waiting to see what she would do.

That was even worse. She could still command fear, but fear was not obedience. And she hated that Laurel had left behind something stronger.

Another explosion erupted below, and a part of the western barricade burst apart as one of the monsters crashed through the flames, its body smoking but still moving. Soldiers shouted in panic as it charged toward the second line, and Rowan immediately rushed forward, raising both guns as he fired repeatedly into its head.

"Cut it down!" Rowan shouted.

Several soldiers fired at once, bullets tearing into the creature until one of the laser weapons locked onto its heat and released a clean bluish-white beam that pierced through its chest. The monster collapsed, but the breach it had opened remained.

"Western side is breach!" someone shouted from below.