The capital courthouse steps were littered with bodies and shattered glass as the first rays of true morning light broke over the city. Rogue stood at the center of the chaos, bloodied and breathing hard, one arm wrapped protectively around Aria while Emma leaned against her other side. The senator’s lifeless body lay behind them, the final broadcast feed still looping on scattered screens — his death captured live for the entire network to see.
Loyal Iron Vipers secured the perimeter, but the victory tasted like ash. Aria’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking. The core struggle inside her had become a storm: every layer they peeled back revealed deeper rot. Her father, the DA, the senator — all pieces of something far larger. And now the cryptic warning about a “higher power” hung over them like
