The Standoff – Hour One
Aria stood behind Sophie, one hand on her daughter's shoulder, watching armed teams position themselves around their building.
Project Evolution on one side. International authorities on the other. And in between, a ten-year-old girl who had just declared she wouldn't be anyone's weapon.
"Mama," Sophie whispered. "I'm scared."
"Good. Being scared means you understand the stakes. It's what you do with that fear that matters."
Aria's mind was already calculating, planning, strategizing with the same brilliance that had built Vale Tech and later orchestrated their fake deaths.
But this time, she wasn't building or hiding.
She was going to war.
Victoria approached with tactical updates.
"Project Evolution teams are maintaining position. They can't move without
