The atmosphere in the villa was heavy, everyone tense. Evan led the way as he entered the living room, Mara trailing behind him, glancing around warily like a cornered animal.

  The moment Darren and Marcus saw Kai seated, calm as ever, they couldn’t hold back. Both stepped forward, speaking over each other.

  “Thank you… for not leaving us there—”

  “I swear, we thought it was over… but you—”

  Kai lifted a hand, silencing them gently. “We’ll talk later. You did well. Rest now.”

  He turned his gaze to Jonah and Felix. “Take them. Make sure they’re settled. I’ll call when I need you.”

  The two recruits nodded, following Jonah and Felix out, still shaken but relieved.

  Evan lingered until Kai looked at him. “I want to speak to her… alone.”

  Evan gave a curt nod, glancing once at Mara, then left.

  Iris, sensing the tension, moved to leave too — but Kai’s voice stopped her. “Stay.”

  Iris blinked, then silently took her place standing at Kai’s side.

  Mara was left facing Kai, sitting across from him on the leather couch. She tried to look defiant… but the exhaustion in her eyes betrayed her.

  Kai’s gaze was steady. “Thank you… for saving them.”

  Mara scoffed bitterly. “Didn’t have much of a choice.”

  Kai’s eyes sharpened. “Then tell me… why did you get in that car?”

  Mara tensed. “The message… it said you could help me — and my sister. I had to know if it was real. If I didn’t… he’d kill her. Now that I helped your friends… he’ll come for us.”

  Iris shifted slightly, but Kai remained calm. “Where’s your sister now?”

  Mara hesitated, then answered quickly. “I called her on the way. Told her to leave the apartment. She’s hiding… somewhere safe. I couldn’t risk bringing her here without knowing.”

  Kai nodded slowly. “Smart.”

  Mara leaned forward, desperate now. “But how? How can you help? I need to know. Otherwise… this was all for nothing.”

  Kai’s voice was low, steady. “Because I have everything — the footage, the recordings. Every word your boss said, every threat. You helped us… now I can help you.”

  Mara’s eyes widened slightly — hope flickering, but still guarded.

  She exhaled shakily. “You need to understand… me and my sister… we’re not blood. We grew up in the same orphanage. But she’s all I have.”

  Kai stayed silent, listening.

  Mara swallowed hard. “When I turned eighteen… I got kicked out. That’s how it works. No money. No help. Just… gone.”

  Her fingers trembled as she spoke. “That’s when I met him — the boss. One of the girls from the orphanage was already working for him. She said it was easy money. I… didn’t know.”

  Iris’s expression hardened, but she stayed quiet.

  Mara forced herself to keep talking. “It was fine at first. Stealing, running errands. Nothing I couldn’t handle. But then… when my sister was about to turn eighteen… he wanted her too. Said if I loved her, I’d bring her in.”

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  Her voice cracked. “I told him no. He… didn’t like that. Told me if I wasn’t going to deliver her, I’d work double. For both of us.”

  Kai’s jaw tensed, but he remained still.

  Mara shook her head. “That’s when things got worse. More jobs. More risk. I got caught. Sent to jail. Came out… went back because he had my sister. He… he said if I ran, she’d pay for it.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “I was stuck. I thought… I’d die like that.”

  Then her eyes rose — locking on Kai’s. “But today… when that message came… when the fire happened, just like it said… I thought maybe… maybe this was my only chance.”

  She swallowed hard. “Please… help me save her. I’ll do anything. Just… don’t let him take her.”

  Iris’s eyes locked on Mara — sharp, calculating. She leaned slightly toward Kai, whispering just loud enough for him to hear.

  “She’s telling the truth.”

  The room fell silent, only Mara’s ragged breathing filling the space.

  Kai leaned back in his chair, his gaze sharp but calm as he watched Mara.

  After a long silence, he finally spoke.

  “I’m willing to help you, Mara. You and your sister… I’ll make sure no one touches either of you again.”

  Mara’s shoulders sagged in relief, but Kai wasn’t done.

  “But—” he continued, his tone steady, “I have one question… Would you join us?”

  Mara blinked. “Join you?”

  Kai nodded slowly. “You’ve got skills. What you did today — at the commercial center, at that alley — you’re good. Too good to waste it running for men like him.”

  Mara hesitated, looking between Kai and Iris, trying to read their faces. “What… what do you mean? What would you want me to do?”

  Kai’s voice softened, but the weight of his words remained. “We need people like you — people who know how to move unseen, who understand the streets. You’ve been using your skills to survive… but with us, you can use them for something more.”

  He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “I won’t force you. You’ll never have to do anything you don’t want to. But if you join us… I’ll pay you enough that money stops being a reason you make bad choices.”

  Mara bit her lip, eyes darting down for a second. “And… my sister?”

  “She’s under our protection now,” Kai promised. “That’s not a question. But loyalty, Mara — that’s the only thing I ask. If you’re with me… you’re with me all the way.”

  The room fell silent, Mara staring at the floor, processing it all.

  Then slowly… she nodded.

  “I’m tired of running,” she whispered. “If you really can send him away and keep my sister safe then yes I’ll do anything.”

  Kai smiled faintly. “Good. Welcome to the family.”

  Iris crossed her arms, a small smirk playing at the edge of her lips. “Told you she’d come around.”

  Kai’s eyes never left Mara. “You made the right choice.”

  Kai sat silently for a moment, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his chair. Then he called Evan.

  “Evan, take Mara with you. Find her sister and bring her back here — safely.” His gaze shifted to Mara. “You know where she is, right?”

  Mara nodded quickly. “Yes… I told her to wait somewhere safe.”

  Kai nodded once. “Good. Don’t take any risks. Get her and come straight back.”

  Evan gave a sharp nod. “Understood.”

  As Evan and Mara moved toward the door, Kai’s eyes shifted to Felix. “Felix… I need you to package the footage we recorded today — everything.”

  Felix frowned, already sensing the next step. “You want me to send it… to the cops?”

  Kai smirked faintly. “Exactly. But — hide Darren, Marcus, and Mara’s faces if they show up anywhere. Blur them out, remove their voices if you have to. The footage needs to look like pure evidence — it’ll be extra evidence.”

  Felix frowned. “Extra?”

  Kai leaned back slightly, his voice calm but laced with that eerie certainty that always made Felix’s stomach twist. “You’ll see.”

  Felix swallowed, but didn’t argue. He turned back to his laptop, fingers flying over the keyboard. A few moments passed in tense silence — until Felix froze. His eyes locked on the police database screen, wide with shock.

  “Kai…” Felix’s voice cracked. “There’s a report — it just got logged.”

  Kai’s eyes flicked to him, unreadable. “Read it.”

  Felix cleared his throat. “Earlier this evening… a group of known offenders was arrested after a fire broke out in a derelict building. When police and firefighters arrived… they found a stash of stolen goods… weapons… drugs.”

  His voice faltered as he kept scrolling. “They arrested the boss — Leon Marks — and his crew.”

  Kai exhaled slowly, his lips curling into a satisfied smile. It worked.

  In that moment, his mind drifted back — to earlier, the candlelight flickering as he’d envisioned it clearly: the headline glowing on the police screen, the arrests, the fire — a future memory planted.

  And now… reality had followed.

  Iris watched him closely, but said nothing — though her eyes narrowed, reading Kai the way only she dared.

  Felix’s voice was softer now, almost reverent. “How… how did you know?”

  Kai glanced at him, that same faint smirk returning. “It went exactly like the Watchers said.”

  Felix swallowed hard, turning back to the screen to finish scrubbing the video clean. He worked quickly, blurring every trace of Darren, Marcus, and Mara — their faces, their voices — gone.

  Kai’s voice came cold again. “Send it. Make it anonymous.”

  Felix nodded. “It’s done.”

  Jonah, silent until now, muttered under his breath. “That’s insane…”

  Kai stood slowly, his gaze distant. Another move played… another piece placed.

  “I want all of you to remember this,” Kai said quietly. “The world will think it was coincidence — a lucky break. But it was us.”

  As the others watched him — some in awe, some in silent fear — Kai allowed himself one last thought:

  Piece by piece… the world bends.

  A few moments after the door creaked open as Evan stepped in, Mara following close behind — and with her, a younger girl, clinging to Mara’s arm like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

  The living room fell silent.

  Kai, seated calmly with Iris and Felix nearby, rose to his feet. His sharp gaze immediately landed on the newcomer — eyes softening just slightly.

  Mara cleared her throat. “Kai… this is my sister. Her name’s Lina.”

  Lina kept her head low, barely glancing at anyone.

  Kai gave a slow nod. “Welcome, Lina. You’re safe here.”

  Mara looked relieved but still tense. “I… I told her everything, about what happened… about you helping us.”

  Kai gave a faint smile. “Good.”

  He gestured toward the couch. “Sit. There’s something I want you to see.”

  Mara hesitated but guided Lina down carefully, sitting beside her. Kai reached for the tablet resting on the table, tapped a few times, and then turned the screen toward Mara.

  “It’s done,” he said simply.

  Mara’s eyes darted to the screen. Her breath caught.

  There it was — the official police report. Mugshots of her boss, the guards, all of them… lined up like fallen pieces on a board. The charges listed — trafficking, extortion, possession of stolen goods. It was everything.

  Her hands trembled as she covered her mouth. “How…? How did you—?”

  Kai’s gaze darkened but his voice remained steady. “We work for someone… powerful.”

  He paused — long enough for the weight of those words to settle.

  “I’ll explain everything, Mara. But what matters right now… is that I made good on my part of the deal.”

  Mara’s eyes filled with disbelief and something else — relief… and the first flicker of trust.

  Kai stepped forward, extending his hand. “Welcome to the Illuminatii.”

  Mara stared at him for a long second — then slowly reached out, her hand shaking as it met his.

  Iris, leaning nearby, smirked faintly. “Told you he keeps his word.”

  Kai’s lips curled into a small, satisfied smile. “You’re safe now. Both of you.”

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