?Chapter 1474:


    “But before anything else, I need…” Raegan began, her voice trailing off.


    “I understand. You require rest, but with injuries this severe, seeing a doctores first,” gue said. He stepped closer, his presence pressing in as his voice dropped to a cial tone. “Even though the leader chose to spare you, my forgiveness is not part of that mercy. You will earn back what you have lost. Cross the organization or the leader one more time, and I have countless ways to make you suffer for it — slowly, and without end. I will ensure you regret every decision, every single day.”


    Meanwhile, in South Lake Park, rain crashed down without mercy.


    Gunfire thundered through the darkness like an unending tempest, smearing Kiley’s vision as shey sprawled across the slick grass, her body caked in mud and rainwater. Her eyes stretched wide as she stared at the chaos unfolding before her — a sh between three opposing forces.


    Confusion locked her in ce. How could there be three separate groups?


    She had only contacted Maia for backup, so one team should have belonged to her. Another unit clearly consisted of covert operatives dispatched by her father to erase her existence. But the third group — where had theye from? Why had they erupted intobat without warning, turning everything into uncontrolled chaos?


    Sheets of rain distorted Kiley’s sight, the world dissolving into a smeared, shifting blur. Bullets tore through the air at random, any one of them capable of ending her life instantly. She could no longer stay hidden against the tree — not after a stray round had mmed into the trunk beside her, missing her skull by only a few inches.


    Momentster she had abandoned her cover, dragging herself forward across the ground until she reached her current position. Her heartbeat hammered wildly against her ribs as she pressed herself low, tucking her head down and struggling to dodge the spray of gunfire.


    Panic seized her — raw and uncontroble. She had never felt this level of terror in her entire life. The smallest misstep could mean death, yet she had no idea which direction to flee or where safetyy amid the chaos.


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    Which path would let her live?


    South Lake Park descended into chaos as the battle intensified. Bullets sliced through the torrential downpour, carving deadly arcs of light through the night.


    Kileyy prone on the sodden, muddy grass, despair washing over her in drowning waves. The cacophony of gunfire and screams pressed in from all sides. She clutched her head, frozen like a deer in headlights, her silent prayers pleading for survival.


    Then, suddenly, a rhythmic strobe pierced the gloom in the distance — the high beams of a vehicle. The light cut a swath through the rain, illuminating her position.


    Kiley squinted against the re, and her heart stuttered as she discerned a pattern: three long shes, followed by a short one. Then it repeated.


    Morse code.


    Trained as an elite operative by the Cooper family, her mind instantly shifted into decryption mode, tranting the pulses into words. I… am… here.


    Maia hade.


    A surge of relief steadied her frantic heart. Salvation was near. Ignoring the mud caking her clothes and skin, she began crawling desperately toward that beacon of hope.


    Gunfire erupted dangerously close. Adrenaline screamed through her veins, her own heartbeat a deafening drum in her ears.


    Fifty yards. Thirty yards.


    As she closed within a dozen yards of the light source, a shadow erupted from the nking bushes. It moved with lethal speed — a panther in the night — pinning her to the ground before she could even gasp.


    “Ah!” A sharp cry escaped her as the air left her lungs.


    Terror locked her in ce, her mind nk, breath caught in her throat. She was certain it was a covert operative sent to finish her off. She writhed and twisted in the mud. “Let go! Leave me alone!”


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