and metal, while Lawrence lay awake with eyes fixed on the low ceiling, haunted by decisions he couldn't take back. Morning-though time meant little underground-brought the

e city." Lawrence went still. "You're going to expose my father." "Not just him," Marek said. "Everyone involved. Corrupt tech barons, syndicates, board members who profit off power scarcity. All of them." Celia looked at Lawrence. "You okay with that?" He hesitated, then nodded. "They deserve worse." Marek slid a holographic blueprint across the table. "You'll need to memorize the route. Once inside, you'll have to move fast. The system reboots every seven minutes. That's your window." Celia studied the map carefully, noting key junctions, hazards, and the location of the core room. "Alright," she said. "What's the catch?" Marek grinned. "Besides death by electrocution or discovery by drone patrol? Nothing major." Celia rolled her eyes. "Lovely." Lawrence was silent, his gaze fixed on the blueprint. After a long pause, he said, "My father won't go down easy." Celia looked at him. "You worried about facing him?" "I'm worried about what he'll do when he realizes I betrayed him." "He already betrayed you," she said softly. "All you're doing is finally fighting back." He nodded, slowly. "Let's get it done." They spent the rest of the day