The rain had stopped, but its traces still lingered on the windows of Daniel's apartment.
Water droplets trickled down slowly, like a countdown to something inevitable.
Inside the room, the silence felt heavier than before.
All eyes remained fixed on the computer screen.
The name was still clearly displayed.
Marcus Sterling.
Victor Hale was the first to react.
"That's impossible."
His voice was soft, almost a whisper, as if afraid to speak too loudly.
Daniel ran a hand over his face.
"He was just arrested."
Leonard Graves crossed his arms, his face instead showing interest.
"That's exactly what makes it interesting."
Ethan stood silently behind Daniel.
His sharp eyes were fixed on the screen.
"Read his message again."
Daniel nodded and repeated,
"If you want to know the truth about Elena Ward's death… meet me tomorrow night."
Victor shook his head.
"This is a trap."
Leonard smiled faintly.
"Of course it's a trap."
Victor stared at him in disbelief.
"And you sound like you want to go."
Leonard shrugged.
"Because good traps usually hold something valuable."
Daniel turned to Ethan.
"I think this is too risky."
Ethan was silent for a few moments.
Then he spoke softly,
"Marcus knows something."
Victor immediately replied,
"Everyone knows something!"
Ethan shook his head.
"Not like this."
He pointed at the screen.
"He wouldn't send a message like this if he didn't have something to trade."
Leonard nodded in agreement.
"True."
Daniel still looked hesitant.
"The thing is… we don't know if this is really Marcus."
Victor added,
"Someone else could be using his name."
Leonard said casually,
"We can find out."
Daniel moved at once.
His hands danced across the keyboard again.
"I'll trace the source of this message."
Seconds turned into minutes.
Code and data streamed across the screen.
Victor stood restlessly behind him.
"Any results?"
Daniel didn't answer right away.
He kept typing, then stopped.
"Interesting…"
Ethan looked at him.
"What is it?"
Daniel let out a slow breath.
"This message was sent through a government encrypted network."
The room fell silent at once.
Victor said softly,
"That means…"
Leonard finished his sentence,
"…this message really came from someone inside the prison."
Daniel nodded.
"And there's only one person with access like that right now."
Everyone knew the answer.
Marcus Sterling.
Victor stepped back one pace.
"This just got worse."
Leonard instead smiled.
"On the contrary."
He looked at Ethan.
"This just got more interesting."
Daniel swiveled his chair to face them.
"We have to decide now."
He continued seriously,
"Are we going to this meeting… or are we ignoring it."
Victor immediately replied,
"Ignore it."
Leonard said,
"Go."
Daniel sighed.
"I'm not surprised you two chose differently."
He looked at Ethan.
"The decision is yours."
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
He walked to the window.
The city outside looked alive again after the rain.
Lights were on.
People walked as if nothing had changed.
But Ethan knew.
their world had already changed.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
The image of his mother's face appeared in his mind.
Elena Ward.
And that recording.
If she becomes a problem… we'll handle it.
Ethan opened his eyes.
"He knows something we don't."
Daniel said,
"And he could be lying."
Ethan nodded.
"He could be."
He turned to them.
"But if we don't go…"
he paused for a moment.
"…we might lose our only chance to know the truth."
Victor looked frustrated.
"And if this is a trap, we could die."
Leonard smiled faintly.
"We could also die if we do nothing."
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck.
"Very reassuring argument."
Ethan walked back to the table.
"Where's the meeting location?"
Daniel looked at the message again.
"It's not mentioned."
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"Clever."
A few seconds later, the computer screen beeped again.
Everyone turned at once.
A new message had appeared.
Daniel read it quickly.
"Location sent."
He opened the attachment.
An address appeared on the screen.
Victor read it aloud,
"Old port in the eastern district…"
He looked at the others with a tense face.
"It's the perfect place for an ambush."
Leonard smiled.
"It's also the perfect place for a deal."
Daniel said,
"The place is large and full of dark corners."
Ethan nodded.
"Which means we have to come prepared."
Victor shook his head quickly.
"I'm not going."
All eyes turned to him.
Victor swallowed.
"I've been close enough to death for one day."
Leonard said casually,
"You can stay here."
Victor immediately nodded.
"Yes, that's a good plan."
Daniel said,
"I'll come along."
He looked at Ethan.
"You're not going alone."
Leonard smiled.
"Of course I'm coming too."
Victor let out a long breath.
"You're all crazy."
Ethan looked at each of them one by one.
"I won't force anyone."
Leonard immediately replied,
"I don't need to be forced."
Daniel nodded.
"Same here."
Victor held up both hands.
"I'll stay and make sure you have a place to come back to… if you're still alive."
Leonard let out a small laugh.
"Remarkable optimism."
Ethan said softly,
"Alright."
He looked at the screen once more.
The address of the old port felt like a door to something bigger.
More dangerous.
But also closer to the truth.
Daniel said,
"We have until tomorrow night."
Leonard added,
"We'll use that time to prepare."
Victor sat on the sofa.
"I'll pray for you."
Leonard turned to him.
"That might be the best idea you've had so far."
Ethan looked back at the window.
The night was growing deeper.
But in his mind
the war had only just begun.
And tomorrow night,
at that old port
he would face the enemy who was supposed to have fallen.
Or perhaps…
the enemy who had only been pretending to lose.
Afternoon slowly turned to evening, and Daniel's apartment transformed into a more lively command post.
There was no room left for doubt.
The decision had been made.
They would go to the old port.
And this time, they would not come unprepared.
Daniel stood in front of a large screen displaying a map of the eastern district.
Several red dots began to appear on the screen.
"This is the port area," he said, pointing to the middle section.
"The old warehouses here haven't been used in a long time, but they still have limited electricity access."
Leonard Graves stood beside him, watching with keen interest.
"Lots of places to hide."
Daniel nodded.
"And lots of places to die without anyone knowing."
Victor Hale, sitting on the sofa, raised his hand half-heartedly.
"Thanks for the reassurance."
Ethan stood behind them, studying the map seriously.
"Entry and exit routes?"
Daniel zoomed in on the map.
"There are three main routes."
He pointed to each one in turn.
"Front gate… too open."
"Side route through the old warehouses… narrow but usable."
"And the back route through the pier… most dangerous, but also the fastest."
Leonard said softly,
"We'll enter from the side."
Ethan nodded.
"And exit through the pier if things go bad."
Victor shook his head.
"You're already planning an escape before you even go in. That's a bad sign."
Daniel turned around.
"That's a sign we're not stupid."
Leonard smiled.
"I'm starting to like you, Daniel."
Victor let out a long sigh.
"I'm the only normal person here."
The next few hours were spent preparing.
Daniel opened a small steel cabinet in the corner of the room.
Inside were several weapons.
Not many.
But enough.
Victor stood up at once.
"No. No. I'm not touching that."
Leonard picked up one of the pistols casually.
"No one asked you to."
Daniel handed a weapon to Ethan.
Ethan took it without hesitation.
His movements were calm.
Trained.
Victor looked at him.
"You've done this before, haven't you?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Leonard instead replied,
"More often than you think."
Victor sat back down.
"Great. I'm even more uncomfortable now."
Night began to fall for the second time since they'd received the message.
Time felt like it was moving faster now.
Daniel closed his laptop.
"Everything's ready."
Leonard checked his watch.
"We leave in an hour."
Victor stood up and walked over to Ethan.
His expression was different now.
More serious.
"Listen," he said softly.
Ethan looked at him.
Victor continued,
"If this really is a trap…"
he paused for a moment.
"…don't be a hero."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"I never intended to be a hero."
Victor nodded.
"Good."
He patted Ethan's shoulder.
"Come back alive. That's all."
Leonard, who had heard this, smiled faintly.
"Rare advice from someone who's panicking."
Victor rolled his eyes.
"Get out of here."
An hour later.
Daniel's car glided through the night streets again.
This time without rain.
But the atmosphere still felt heavy.
No one spoke much.
The city lights gradually faded as they approached the eastern district.
The buildings began to look older.
Darker.
Quieter.
Daniel slowed the car down.
"We're almost there."
Leonard looked out the window.
"Beautiful place to die."
Daniel sighed.
"I hope you're joking."
Leonard didn't answer.
Ethan stared straight ahead.
The old port came into view.
Large warehouses stood like giant shadows under the moonlight.
No activity.
No sound.
Too quiet.
Daniel turned off the engine a few hundred meters from the location.
"We'll walk from here."
They got out of the car.
The night air was cold.
The sea breeze carried a faint salty smell.
Ethan walked in front.
His steps were calm.
But every sense was alert.
Leonard walked behind him.
Daniel on the right.
They moved like shadows between the old warehouses.
"No guards at the front," Daniel whispered.
Leonard replied,
"Which means they want us to come in."
Ethan said softly,
"Keep walking."
They reached the side route.
A narrow alley between two large warehouses.
Dark.
Quiet.
Every step felt heavier than it should have.
Daniel whispered,
"I don't like this."
Leonard replied,
"Which means we're in the right place."
They kept moving.
Until finally.
a voice rang out from ahead.
"Right on time."
Ethan stopped walking.
A silhouette emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley.
A small light turned on behind him.
Slowly illuminating his face.
Marcus Sterling.
But this time, no expensive suit.
No bodyguards.
Only a man who looked more tired than before.
Daniel whispered,
"He actually came…"
Leonard narrowed his eyes.
"Alone."
Ethan stepped forward.
"What kind of trap is this?"
Marcus smiled faintly.
"If this were a trap, you'd be dead the moment you entered the port area."
Silence fell again.
The sea breeze blew gently.
Ethan stared at him sharply.
"You have something to say."
Marcus nodded.
"A lot."
He stepped a little closer.
The light now made his face clearer.
Something was different.
Not just exhaustion.
But also… pressure.
Daniel asked,
"How could you send a message from inside prison?"
Marcus smiled faintly.
"You still underestimate my network."
Leonard said casually,
"Or maybe we underestimate how deep you've sunk."
Marcus didn't deny it.
He looked at each of them one by one.
Then back at Ethan.
"I don't have much time."
Ethan said coldly,
"Get to the point."
Marcus took a deep breath.
"What you saw in that recording…"
he paused for a moment.
"…isn't the whole truth."
Leonard smiled faintly.
"Classic line."
Daniel crossed his arms.
"We need more than that."
Marcus looked at each of them one by one.
Then back to Ethan.
"The person who ordered your mother's death…"
he stopped.
His voice grew lower.
"…was not me."
Ethan didn't react.
Marcus continued,
"And I wasn't the one who suggested it first either."
Silence fell again.
Ethan said softly,
"Then who was it?"
Marcus looked straight into his eyes.
"Someone you think you already understand."
The sea breeze blew again.
But this time it felt colder.
Because one thing was becoming clear.
This game.
had not yet shown all its cards.