Chapter 11
1275 Words
*Title: Chapter 11 - Epilogue*
*Word count: 1,598*
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*6 months later*
The divorce papers sat on the kitchen counter like a bomb with the pin pulled.
Ava stared at them. Signature line blank. Waiting for her.
Six months since Navotas. Six months since Viktor died. Six months of silence, rebuilding, and pretending she was fine.
She wasn’t.
“Still not signing?”
Ava didn’t turn around. She knew that voice.
Lucas leaned against the doorway, holding two cups of coffee. He looked better. Rested. In control again. Black Industries was back on track. The police had used the USB copies Elise recovered to arrest half of Manila’s corrupt officials. Project Eclipse was buried.
But Ava wasn’t.
“Not yet,” she said.
Lucas set a cup down in front of her. “It’s been six months, Ava. The deal was six months.”
“I know,” Ava said. “I just… thought I’d feel different by now.”
Lucas sat across from her. “How do you feel?”
Ava picked up the paper. Her name was on it. Mrs. Ava Black. It felt wrong.
“Empty,” she said quietly. “Like I don’t know who I am without all the running and fighting.”
Lucas reached across and covered her hand with his. “You’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to be.”
Ava looked up at him. “That’s the problem, Lucas. I don’t know if I want to be alone with you.”
Lucas flinched, but nodded. “Fair.”
The door opened. Miguel walked in with Elise, both carrying grocery bags. Their faces fell when they saw the papers.
“Today’s the day?” Miguel asked.
Ava nodded. “Yeah.”
Elise set the bags down and sat beside her. “You don’t have to do this alone. Either of you.”
Miguel snorted. “Speak for yourself. I’m staying out of this.”
Ava almost laughed. Almost.
She picked up the pen.
Her hand hovered over the signature line.
The phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Ava didn’t recognize the number. But she knew that feeling in her gut.
She answered on speaker.
“Ava Reyes,” a voice said. Female. Calm. Deadly. “We need to talk.”
Lucas was on his feet instantly. “Who is this?”
The woman laughed. “You don’t know me yet, Mr. Black. But you will. I’m Selena Voss.”
Ava’s blood ran cold.
Selena Voss. Viktor’s handler. The name her father mentioned in the video. The one who was “bigger than him.”
“What do you want?” Ava said.
“Viktor was sloppy,” Selena said. “I’m not. I have the real Project Eclipse files. All of them. Unencrypted.”
Lucas cursed under his breath.
“What do you want?” Ava repeated.
“You,” Selena said simply. “Come to Makati. Alone. Pier 7. Midnight. Bring the decryption key.”
“I don’t have a key,” Ava said.
“You do,” Selena said. “Your father was thorough. The key isn’t a password. It’s you. Your DNA. Viktor didn’t know. I do.”
Ava’s hands shook.
“What happens if I don’t come?”
Selena’s voice turned cold. “Then I release everything. Every name. Every file. And I start with your brother.”
The line went dead.
Silence.
Miguel stood up, face pale. “No. Absolutely not.”
Ava looked at the divorce papers. Then at Lucas. Then at Miguel.
“I have to go,” she said.
“No,” Lucas said. “Not alone. Not again.”
Ava stood up. “If I don’t, she kills Miguel. She releases everything. Millions of lives, Lucas.”
Lucas grabbed her shoulders. “We find another way.”
“There isn’t one,” Ava said. “Not this time.”
Elise stood up. “Then we make one. I’m coming with you.”
Ava shook her head. “She said alone. If I break that, Miguel dies.”
Miguel grabbed her arm. “Ava, don’t—”
Ava hugged him tight. “I love you, Miguel. Be ready. If I’m not back by 2 AM, call Lucas. He knows what to do.”
She pulled away and looked at Lucas.
“Sign the papers,” she said.
Lucas stared at her. “What?”
“If I don’t come back,” Ava said, “don’t wait for me. Live your life. You deserve that.”
Lucas’s jaw tightened. “I’m not signing anything.”
Ava took his hand and placed the pen in it. “Then sign it now. So I know you’ll be okay either way.”
Lucas looked at her for a long time. Then he signed.
Ava’s throat tightened.
“Good,” she whispered. “Now let me go.”
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*Midnight. Pier 7, Makati.*
The pier was empty. Fog rolled in off the water.
Ava walked alone, hands empty.
Selena stood at the end of the pier, flanked by four men. No weapons visible. But Ava knew better.
“You came,” Selena said. She looked younger than Ava expected. Mid-30s. Perfect suit. Perfect smile.
Ava stopped ten feet away. “Where’s my brother?”
“Safe,” Selena said. “For now. Where’s the key?”
Ava stepped forward and held out her wrist. “Right here.”
Selena frowned. “What?”
Ava smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. “You want my DNA? Take it.”
Selena’s eyes narrowed. “You’re bluffing.”
“No,” Ava said. “I’m done running. If you want Project Eclipse, you’ll have to kill me for it.”
Selena studied her. Then she nodded to her men.
They moved.
Ava didn’t run.
Gunshots.
Ava dropped.
But not from Selena’s men.
Elise dropped from the rafters above, taking out two men before they could fire. Lucas came from the left, taking out the third.
Selena spun, reaching for her gun.
Ava was faster.
She grabbed Selena’s wrist and twisted. The gun clattered to the deck.
“You lied,” Ava said.
Selena smiled, even with a gun to her head. “Of course I did.”
Lucas stepped forward, gun aimed at Selena. “Where’s Miguel?”
“Safe,” Selena said. “For now. But you’ll never stop us. There are always more.”
Ava looked at Lucas. “We’ll deal with that later.”
Lucas nodded and zip-tied Selena’s hands.
Ava exhaled. Her legs almost gave out.
Lucas caught her. “You’re an idiot.”
Ava smiled weakly. “I know.”
Elise came over, checking the perimeter. “Cops are two minutes out. We need to move.”
Ava nodded. “Take her.”
As they walked away, Selena called out.
“Ava! It doesn’t end here! He’s still out there!”
Ava stopped. “Who?”
Selena smiled. “Your father.”
Ava froze.
Lucas grabbed her arm. “Don’t listen to her. She’s lying.”
Selena laughed. “Am I? Check the records, Mrs. Black. Senator Reyes didn’t die in that warehouse. He walked out.”
The world tilted.
Ava looked at Lucas. “Is it true?”
Lucas didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Selena was dragged away, laughing.
Ava stood on the pier, staring at the water.
Six months of peace. Gone in one phone call.
“Lucas,” she said quietly. “If my father’s alive…”
Lucas squeezed her hand. “Then we find him. Together.”
Ava nodded. She didn’t know if she was ready for the truth.
But she wasn’t running anymore.
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*End of Chapter 11*
- Writer
