Page 385 of Scars of Fate

The deployments.

The fear.

The divorce.

Eight years of a conspiracy built around their love.

“They look happy,” I said.

“They were.”

I looked at her.

“They still could be.”

Her emerald eyes filled with emotion.

“Yes,” she whispered. “They could.”

I placed the encrypted drive inside a protected pouch beneath my vest.

The photograph went beside it.

Then we turned toward the concealed passage.

Hawk examined the portable dispersal unit through the reinforced barrier.

Environmental readings remained stable.

Aegis had restored cooling.

No dispersal warning.

The unit sat behind the steel shutter.

Silent.

Secure.

“Can it be moved?” Roth asked.

“Not safely,” Hawk answered.

“My team will guard it until Dr. Demir arrives.”

“She’s still in Turkey.”

“Then it stays here.”

Roth placed two men outside the chamber.

“No one enters. No one touches the unit. No exceptions.”

I looked directly at him.

“If Kane has someone inside your team⁠—”

“I selected these men myself.”