Chapter 1445:


    Her phone. She had forgotten to silence it. The piercing tone ricocheted through the storm like a beacon announcing her exact location — a death knell ringing out in the dark.


    Her thoughts scattered in pure terror. There was no escape. She was finished.


    “Someone’s in the bushes.”


    “The sound came from over there.”


    “Quick — surround her!”


    In an instant, more than a dozen shlight beams snapped together, converging like des. A stampede of footsteps surged across the wet ground, closing in from every direction.


    Panic wed through Kiley’s chest. She fumbled desperately for the phone, but her trembling fingers refused to obey. It slipped from her grasp, ttered against something hard, and disappeared into the mud. Its ringtone wailed on — relentless and usatory.


    Dark figures pressed closer, their formation tightening into a suffocating ring. Her escape routes vanished one by one, sealing her inside a cage of shadows and rain.


    Kiley’s gaze snapped toward the pitch-ckke directly ahead — the single opening left untouched. Thest thread of hope she could grasp.


    She shrugged off the sodden trench coat, snatched up a jagged stone, and bundled it tightly inside the dripping fabric. Summoning every shred of strength she had, she hurled the weighted bundle straight toward the water.


    Thud. A violent ssh erupted on impact, droplets bursting into the air like shattered ss.


    Shouts cut through the rain. “She jumped in theke!” “She’s in the water — go after her!”


    Instinct drove the operatives toward the sound, certain she had plunged beneath the surface to escape. Every shlight locked onto the rippling waves, scanning for her silhouette. The area around the shrubs fell into a blind spot.


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    Kiley had not touched the water.


    The instant sheunched the decoy, she spun away and hurled herself toward a massive tree nearby. Now she crouched deep within its thick canopy, limbs coiled tight against the rough bark, fingers refusing to release the USB drive.


    Below, operatives surged toward theke’s edge with weapons raised. Several plunged straight in, sshing frantically before dragging the sodden trench coat back to shore.


    “There’s no one here.”


    “The coat’s here — she must be holding her breath. She won’t get far.”


    “Make sure no one leaves with the intel. Everyone — shoot!”


    Themand ignited chaos. Operatives opened fire without restraint, bullets tearing through the rain-soaked air and puncturing theke’s surface in violent bursts. Kiley’s life meant nothing to them now, even if she carried Kolton’s blood. The mission had narrowed to a single objective: destroy the USB drive and anyone protecting it.


    High in the tree’s embrace, Kiley peered through the leaves at the shadows darting below, every breath snagging in her throat. Her palm mped over her lips, terrified that even the faintest gasp might give her away. Cold droplets slid from the trembling foliage and struck her skin like icy needles.


    All she had to do was endure until dawn, or convince them she had drowned — only then would she have any chance of surviving.


    But the fragile hope shattered when a stray shlight beam swept upward andnded directly on the treetop where she crouched in trembling silence. The leaves quivered under the harsh re, mirroring the frantic rhythm pounding inside her chest.


    In that suspended heartbeat, she could have sworn she felt death itself leaning close — exhaling against the back of her neck.


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