The safehouse was buried beneath an old chapel in the western quarter of Harrow City. Calder had secured it years ago, when ghosts from his past began hunting in the daylight. Now, Selene paced its underground hall like a caged animal.
The Lazarus Compound had confirmed everything—and more.
Lina was alive. Broken, altered, manipulated... but alive.
The files they retrieved showed Harrow's reach wasn't just corporate—it was biological. A network of human weapons bred from trauma, sculpted by chemicals, and leashed through obedience programming. Every subject had a fail-safe. Every failure, a purpose.
Selene sat at the long table surrounded by monitors, diagrams, and open folders. Aria's encrypted drive glowed faintly, data still unpacking. Calder was across from her, nursing a stitched-up gash on his shoulder and a scotch stronger than sense.
"They knew we'd come," he said, breaking the silence.
"No. They knew someone would. But they didn't expect us to get out."
Calder nodded. "That won't happen again. Harrow's going to lock every gate, burn every lead, and—"
A sharp ping interrupted him.
The monitor lit up with a new file.
BLACK ORCHID – Active Contract: Selene Vale
Status: Marked for Termination
Issued By: Harrow Executive Command
Enforcer Assigned: "Marrow"
Selene's spine straightened.
Marrow.
The name hit like cold iron. It wasn't just an assassin—it was the assassin. A myth whispered among the Orchid Program's survivors. She remembered him as a whisper in training modules, a presence in her nightmares. Not because he was cruel—but because he was precise.
And because he had once loved her.
"You know him?" Calder asked.
"I knew who he was. We trained together. Briefly. Before the Project turned him into a blade with no handle."
She didn't say his real name. That part she kept hidden, even from herself.
Calder narrowed his eyes. "Can he be reasoned with?"
"No. But he can be predicted."
Selene reached into her bag and pulled out a small black velvet box. Inside was a single orchid petal, long dead, preserved by frost and memory. A token from another life. The last thing he gave her before they were separated.
She looked up. "He'll come for me in three days. Maybe sooner."
"How do you know?"
"Because he's not hunting me yet. He's watching. He likes to know the soul of the person he's about to bury."
Calder stood. "Then we move."
"No," Selene said.
"We wait."
Calder looked at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Why?"
"Because if I run, he'll track me through the people I care about. If I stay, I control the board."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"And if Marrow's coming for me, I'll be ready to remind him who taught him how to bleed."