Crowded by Fire

The text stared back at Annalise, a single word that shattered her world.

Checkmate.

Her hand trembled as the noise of the crowd swirled around her. Cole leaned in, his voice urgent. "What does it say?"

"It's Ethan," Annalise whispered. Her voice sounded foreign to her own ears, cold and hollow.

Cole's jaw clenched, and he scanned the room. "He played us. Damn it, I told you we couldn't trust him."

"Not here," she hissed, forcing herself to steady. The last thing she needed was more eyes on her. "We need to get out of here—now."

Cole nodded, his hand resting protectively on her back as they weaved through the panicked crowd. The red emergency lights cast eerie shadows on every face, making it impossible to tell friend from foe.

But Annalise's mind was elsewhere. Ethan. The man who had sworn he wanted to help her take down Victor. The man who had claimed to know her father's secrets. He had betrayed her—again.

The Vanishing Act

By the time they reached the car parked a block away, Annalise's fury had crystallized into determination.

"Call Mina," she ordered as Cole slid into the driver's seat.

"Already on it," Cole replied, pulling out his phone.

Mina picked up after two rings, her voice breathless. "What the hell happened? The feed went dark halfway through the gala."

"Ethan happened," Annalise snapped. "He's working against us. He stole the flash drive and disappeared in the chaos."

Mina cursed under her breath. "I should've seen this coming. He always had his own agenda."

"Well, now we need to figure out what it is," Annalise said, her tone icy. "And where he's taking the files."

Mina hesitated. "I might have a lead. There's a private airfield just outside the city. Ethan used it back when he was… well, on Victor's payroll. If he's planning to leave town, that's where he'll go."

Cole nodded, already turning the car toward the highway.

"And Mina," Annalise added, "pull up everything you can find on Ethan's movements over the last few weeks. I want to know who he's been talking to, where he's been—everything."

"You got it," Mina said.

The Airfield Confrontation

The night air was thick with tension as they pulled up to the airfield, its gates unguarded but eerily quiet. A single private jet sat on the tarmac, its engines humming.

"That's him," Cole said, his voice low.

Annalise stepped out of the car, her heels clicking against the pavement as she approached the plane. The hatch was open, and a shadowed figure stood at the top of the stairs.

"Annalise," Ethan called out, his voice calm, almost amused. "I didn't think you'd catch up so quickly."

"Give me the flash drive," she demanded, her tone sharp as a blade.

Ethan smirked. "You know, you really are your father's daughter. Always thinking ten steps ahead… except when it comes to trust."

"Don't you dare talk about my father," she snapped, her anger flaring. "You lied to me, Ethan. You used me."

"I gave you the truth," Ethan said, descending the stairs. "Victor killed your father because of what he knew. I wasn't lying about that. But what I didn't tell you is that the truth was never yours to own. It's bigger than you, Annalise. Bigger than revenge."

"What are you talking about?"

Ethan stopped a few feet away, his expression unreadable. "Victor isn't just a man. He's a cog in a much larger machine. And that machine… it's already in motion. If you take him down without understanding the bigger picture, you'll burn everything to the ground—including yourself."

"You don't get to make that choice for me," Annalise said, her voice trembling with fury. "Give me the flash drive, or so help me—"

Ethan tilted his head, almost pitying. "You don't even know what you're asking for."

The Revelation

Before Annalise could respond, headlights appeared in the distance, rapidly approaching. Cole stepped forward, his hand on his pistol.

"Backup?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not mine," Annalise said, her stomach sinking.

The car skidded to a stop, and a group of men in black suits emerged, their movements precise and coordinated. They weren't Victor's usual goons—they were too professional.

Ethan's smirk faded. "Well, that complicates things."

The lead man stepped forward, his face expressionless. "Ms. Crane, Mr. Donovan, you're both coming with us."

"Who sent you?" Annalise demanded, her heart pounding.

The man didn't answer. Instead, he gestured, and two of his men moved toward her.

Ethan acted first. In a blur, he grabbed Annalise's wrist and pulled her toward the plane. "Run!"

"What are you—"

"Just trust me, for once!" Ethan shouted, dragging her up the stairs.

Cole fired off a warning shot, forcing the men to take cover, then followed them onto the plane.

As the hatch closed and the engines roared to life, Annalise turned on Ethan. "What the hell is going on?"

Ethan didn't answer. Instead, he moved to the cockpit, speaking quickly to the pilot.

When he returned, his expression was grim. "Those weren't Victor's men. They were government."

"What?"

Ethan sank into a seat, rubbing a hand over his face. "Victor's been playing a double game—laundering money not just for his empire but for rogue elements in the government. The files on that flash drive? They don't just incriminate him. They implicate some of the most powerful people in the country."

Annalise stared at him, her mind reeling. "And you knew this the whole time?"

"I didn't know how deep it went," Ethan admitted. "But now that I do, there's no going back. If we expose this, we're not just taking on Victor—we're taking on an entire shadow network."

The Cliffhanger

Before Annalise could respond, the pilot's voice crackled over the intercom. "We've got company."

Out the window, two black helicopters appeared, their searchlights sweeping over the plane.

Ethan cursed under his breath. "They're not going to let us leave."

"What do we do?" Annalise asked, her voice tight.

Ethan met her gaze, his eyes burning with intensity. "We fight."

The plane lurched forward, speeding down the runway as the helicopters closed in. Annalise gripped the armrest, her heart pounding.

And just as the wheels lifted off the ground, a missile streaked through the night sky, heading straight for them.