Zayn’s grin returned, mischievous. "Ayla? Your little sister? Oh, this is going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to be the cool big brother."

Aylin laughed, bright and real. "You’re only twenty-five. You’re hardly an adult."

"Excuse me, you too," he shot back. "And I’ve got responsibilities. I feed the fish in the koi pond every Tuesday."

Zayden rolled his eyes. "You just feed them chips."

"Artisanal chips," Zayn countered seriously.

Aylin buried her face in Zayden’s shoulder, giggling like crazy. Zayden kissed her head, soft and automatic, like he had been doing it forever.

Zayn watched, his smile softening. "Alright, I get it now. She’s good for you, Z. You look... lighter."

Zayden met his brother’s gaze; something unspoken passed between them. "She really is."

Aylin lifted her head, her cheeks still flushed from laughing. "Stop! You guys are going to make me cry again."

Zayn leaned in and whispered dramatically, "He cries at dog videos, so don’t be fooled."

Zayden tossed a grape at him. "Shut up."

Aylin caught it mid-air and ate it. "I knew it."

The table erupted into laughter, easy and warm, the kind that hadn’t been in this house for years.

Suddenly, Zayden’s phone buzzed, and he picked up the call.

He ended it with a quick jab of his thumb. The fun vibe in the dining hall vanished like smoke.

He stood up, his chair scraping the floor, and his expression hardened. Hazard King was back in the game. "It was Leo. Maksim’s on the move. William’s in the mix. Ops room. In an hour."

Aylin grabbed his hand right away and squeezed. "What’s going on?"

"Maksim’s heading to a black site tonight. Fresh intel just dropped. Leo’s on it." Zayden’s jaw tightened. "If William’s there... we hit hard. Fast."

Zayn, still casually lounging with crumbs on his hoodie, sat up straight. The playful grin disappeared. "Wait, William? The dead genius William?"

Zayden’s eyes shot to him, sharp and searching. "Not dead. Not anymore. Stay here. Lock it down. No one in or out without my say-so. Got it?"

Zayn nodded, serious now, with no trace of joking. "Got it. The perimeter’s mine."

Zayden faced Aylin, holding her face gently and running his thumbs over her cheeks. "You with me?"

Her golden-brown eyes sparkled like a lioness poised to strike. "Always."

He kissed her, brief, intense, and possessive. "Good. Let’s go find him."

They ascended the stairs to Zayden’s room, moving quickly toward the concealed panel in the wall. It opened soundlessly, and they vanished inside. The panel shut behind them with a soft sound.

In the dining room downstairs, Zayn stared at the table for an extended moment. Then he took a deep, steady breath.

He pulled out his phone, opened his messages, and typed: "Z just got summoned to ops. Something significant. Stay alert. I’ve got the house."

He pressed send, doing what he routinely did, having his big brother’s back.

Leaning back in his chair, he took another bite of toast. But as he chewed, one thought lingered—soft and curious: How did Aylin and Zayden first meet?

Meanwhile, deep within the mansion, the real clock continued to tick.

On the other side, in the ops room, Zayden and Aylin burst through the secret entrance.

Leo glanced up from his tablet, its screen illuminated, his expression tense. "Forty-five minutes until Maksim arrives at the location. Trace is live. If William’s present... we move in aggressively."

Aylin settled into the chair next to him, her fingers already flying over the keys. "Show me the feed."

Zayden positioned himself behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders, observing the screens flash red.

Leo displayed the map, indicating a blinking dot swiftly moving across rural upstate New York. "Encrypted communication is sparse but steady. It’s Maksim’s convoy—three armored SUVs with a strong escort. Destination: an abandoned palace with subterranean levels."

Aylin’s eyes narrowed as she scanned the lines of code. "The drone signature corresponds to one from two years ago at the cabin, same jamming technology. It’s William’s blueprint. No doubt about it."

Zayden clenched his grip on her shoulders, anger bubbling beneath the surface. "He’s alive. They’ve kept him alive for this long, meaning he still holds value."

Leo nodded. "Or they’re making him work on upgrades—fixing the devices so they can’t be tracked, not even by Lunel."

Aylin’s fingers hesitated for a second. "So we don’t just rescue him. We need to get him out before they move him again."

Zayden leaned in closer, his voice low. "Are you really ready for this? It’s gonna get bloody."

She turned to meet his eyes. "I’ve been running from blood for years. I’m done running."

He smiled, dark and proud. "That’s my girl."

Leo coughed. "Sorry to interrupt the moment, but we’re racing against the clock. What’s the plan for extraction?"

Zayden straightened, his focus sharpening. "Full team. Night operation. Aylin will handle the tech stuff—jam their comms, loop the cameras, blind the drones. Leo, you and Reyes will lead the breach. I’ll go after William."

Aylin cut in sharply, "And what if it’s a trap?"

Zayden’s eyes were steady on hers. "Then we take them all down with it."

Leo grinned, a fierce look in his eyes. "I like this plan."

Aylin’s fingers flew over the keyboard, code lighting up three screens. "I’m in their outer network. The firewalls are better, thanks to William, but they’re still not enough."

She cracked the first layer in under ninety seconds.

Zayden watched her, feeling a mix of pride and something even stronger.

But in the back of his mind, one question kept nagging at him:

Who was the shadow in the forest that night?

The one who took out Alpha’s men with perfect shots.

The one who disappeared without a trace.

If William were alive... and someone had been looking out for Aylin from the start...

Then maybe the ghost was someone he already knew.

Maybe he was already inside these walls.

The clock ticked louder.

Maksim moved.

And somewhere, someone else moved even faster.