Zayden’s room was pretty dark, except for the soft light coming from the lamp on the nightstand.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed, fingers intertwined with Aylin’s as they chatted. They liked to hang out like this sometimes, just enjoying each other’s company in the quiet. No plans. No strategies. Just them.

Aylin was cozy next to him, wearing a black lacy nightgown that barely covered anything, with a sheer robe casually draped over her shoulders. Zayden was just in his boxers, feeling comfortable and relaxed in a way he never really felt outside this room.

"I can’t believe Azalea is Ghost Net," Aylin said, shaking her head a bit. "After all this time."

"She really keeps secrets well," Zayden replied. "Must’ve learned from the best."

Aylin smiled. "You mean you?"

"I mean, our mom," Zayden corrected. "Isabella Virelli doesn’t give out info unless she wants to."

"Good point."

They sat in a nice silence for a moment.

Then Zayden’s phone buzzed on the nightstand.

He grabbed it, expecting some usual update from security or a complaint from Leo about something.

But instead, it was a text from Zayn.

Zayden frowned and opened it, with Aylin leaning in to read it with him.

"Alexander Kane just collapsed. Emma called me. We’re at the hospital. He’s stable but unconscious — severe exhaustion and stress. He keeps calling Emma’s name. The doc says depression. Something isn’t right with him."

"He really loves her. I saw it. No matter what else is going on, he loves his daughter."

Zayden and Aylin exchanged looks.

"Alexander collapsed," Aylin said slowly.

"And Zayn is with Emma," Zayden added. "At the hospital."

"That’s... unexpected."

Zayden was already moving, reaching for his laptop on the desk. "We need to get everyone in the loop. Now."

Aylin stood up right away. "I need to change."

She took off the thin robe and grabbed one of Zayden’s hoodies from the chair. It was an oversized black one that came down to her mid-thigh. Way better for a video call.

Zayden threw on a t-shirt.

They settled back on the bed, the laptop between them.

Zayden pulled up the encrypted server that Aylin had just put together an hour ago. The interface was sharp, with a black background and green text. Totally secure and untraceable. This was the first full activation.

Zayden had hooked everyone up with laptops made by Leo and his crew. These laptops were specifically designed two years ago for situations just like this, complete with military-grade encryption and self-destructing code to stop any hacks. The tech was so cutting-edge, it wasn’t even officially released.

While they had used these laptops a bit over the years, this was the first time they were all logged in together.

Zayden typed fast, "Emergency meeting. Now. Video call."

One by one, notifications popped up as people joined:

- Reyes: Online

- Azalea: Online

- Liam: Online

- Charles: Online

- Black Panther: Online

- William: Online

- Leo: Online

Then, Zayden kicked off the video call.

The screen split into nine squares — eight faces plus his own.

Reyes popped up first, clearly just waking up, with messy hair and a plain t-shirt. His room was pretty dark.

Azalea followed, surprisingly awake for this time of night, sitting in her room at the mansion in a baggy sweater.

Liam appeared, also just getting up, sitting at his desk in his apartment.

Charles was in another guest room in the tower, looking a bit tired but focused.

Black Panther, Sarah, showed up in what seemed like a home office, looking put together even this late. She had a calm and steady expression.

William showed up last, and Aylin let out a sharp breath.

He looked better than the last time they saw him, less skinny, with a bit more color in his face. But he still seemed weak and was clearly on the mend. He was sitting up in bed, his laptop resting on a pillow.

"William," Aylin said softly.

William gave a small smile. "Aylin. Good to see you."

"You’re looking better."

"I’m getting there. Slowly."

Leo popped up on the screen, eating what looked like cold pizza. "Alright. It’s—" he checked his watch, "—one in the morning. This better be good."

"It is," Zayden said evenly.

Everyone turned their attention to him.

Zayden shot Zayn’s message into the group chat so they could all read it.

A silence fell as they took in the text.

Then Azalea spoke up first. "Alexander fainted."

"Stress and exhaustion," Reyes read out loud. "Depression. Calling for Emma."

"He really cares for her," Charles said quietly. "That much is obvious."

Sarah, who went by Black Panther, leaned in a bit. "If he really loves Emma, that’s some leverage we can use."

"Leverage how?" Liam asked.

"Blackmail," Sarah said plainly. "We know what Alexander is and what he’s done. If we threaten to spill the beans to Emma, to tell her the truth about her adoption and her parents, he might fold."

"Fold to our side?" Azalea looked doubtful. "He’s been the Alpha for how long? He’s not just going to switch sides."

"Not for us," Aylin said slowly. "But for Emma? Maybe."

Everyone’s attention shifted back to the screen.

Aylin continued, "If Alexander really loves Emma, and from this message, it sounds like he does, losing her is probably his biggest fear. We could use that."

William spoke up, his voice still weak but clear. "So you want to threaten to tell Emma the truth unless Alexander helps us take down the Alpha."

"Totally," Aylin agreed.

Leo set his pizza aside. "That’s super risky."

"Why’s that?" Azalea asked.

"Because if Alexander sees through our bluff, and thinks we wouldn’t actually spill the beans to Emma, it’s not gonna work," Leo explained. "And if we do tell Emma, we lose any leverage we had since the threat would be gone."

"Also," Reyes jumped in, "Emma’s innocent. Using her against her dad crosses a line."

There was a heavy silence on the call.

Zayden leaned back. "Reyes has a point. Emma shouldn’t be treated like a pawn."

"But she already is a pawn," Charles said quietly. "Alpha plays her against Alexander all the time. We’d just be switching things up."

"That doesn’t make it okay," Aylin shot back.

More silence hung in the air.

Finally, Liam spoke up. "What if we tried a different approach?"

"Like how?" Zayden asked.

"What if we offered Alexander an escape route?" Liam suggested. "Not through blackmail, but more like a way out. Help us take down Alpha, and we promise Emma never has to find out the truth."

Sarah nodded slowly. "That could work. We could make it sound like we’re protecting Emma instead of making a threat."

"But we still need leverage," Azalea pointed out. "Something that’ll make him take us seriously."

"The evidence," Aylin said. "The USB drive you brought has proof of what Alexander’s done. We show him we have it and that we could expose him, unless he cooperates."

William cleared his throat. "The issue is Alpha. If Alexander flips, Alpha will catch on and go after Emma directly."

"So, we need to keep Emma safe," Liam said. "Around-the-clock protection, even before we talk to Alexander."

Zayden was thinking fast. "Zayn is already with her at the hospital." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"And he’s not leaving her side anytime soon," Aylin added. "We know that much about your brother."

Azalea smiled a bit. "Zayn’s really into her."

"That actually helps us," Leo said. "Zayn will protect Emma no matter what. He’s already in deep."

"So the plan is," Reyes said slowly, piecing it together, "we go to Alexander, show him we’ve got proof, and give him a way out, help us take down Alpha, and we’ll keep Emma in the dark about her real past."

"And we’ll keep Emma safe with Zayn," Azalea wrapped up.

"But how do we deal with Alexander?" Charles asked. "He’s not going to just take a seat for a casual chat."

The room went quiet.

Finally, Sarah spoke up. "I might have an idea."

Everyone turned to her.

"Alpha is up to something," Sarah said. "I don’t have all the details yet, but there’s been some weird activity. I can’t fully decode the communications. Whatever’s going on, it matters."

"And of course, Alexander is tangled up in it," Zayden added.

"He always is," Sarah confirmed. "If we can catch him during one of these operations, find him away from Alpha and without his crew, we could make our pitch."

"That’s risky," Reyes said.

"Everything we do is risky," Azalea shot back.

William cleared his throat. "I’m on board with Sarah’s plan. We need to catch Alexander when he’s vulnerable and make the offer, giving him some time to think it over."

"But we have to move fast," Aylin pointed out. "If Alexander is feeling the pressure, Alpha will pick up on it. Our window is small."

Zayden looked at Aylin, and she nodded slightly.

If this backfired, Emma wouldn’t be the only one in danger.

This was it. No turning back now.

He turned back to the screen. "Alright, here’s the game plan."

Everyone leaned in closer.