The AID team was in full crisis mode.
"So, if you didn't get Vicky… then where is she?" Evan asked, voice sharp with panic.
Elsewhere…
A lone girl, bruised but fierce, battled a group of armed goons. Every strike was precise, every movement fluid. She moved like lightning, taking them down one by one. The family huddled behind her watched in awe as she fought for them—unflinching, unstoppable.
Then—darkness. The vision shattered.
Vicky jolted awake, disoriented, dressed in hospital greens. Her head felt strangely light… healed. But she was cuffed to the bed, an IV dripping into her arm.
"Hello?" she called out, again and again.
Finally, a woman in a nurse's uniform stepped in.
"Oh, Paige… thank God you're awake," the nurse sighed in relief.
"Paige? Where am I?" Vicky asked, blinking.
"No need to worry. You're in the safest place possible," the nurse replied, shining a light in her eyes.
"Ouch!" Vicky flinched.
"You're fine," the nurse said. "But just to be sure—what am I wearing?"
"Green… hospital clothes. Why am I cuffed? Where's Evan? Emily?" Vicky asked, her voice rising.
"I was just called here to help," the nurse deflected.
At that moment, two women entered—Karen and Ndeshi.
"Hi Paige. Remember me?" Karen said with a grin.
A flashback
Karen and Ndeshi, once AID agents—heroes to many, but to Vicky, jealous rivals. They had loathed her for her unmatched skill and the accolades she'd won, especially the time she was named Best Fearless Spy at the Ranking Awards. They'd even tried to plant a bomb in her mic. She caught them—deactivated it using her earrings. When she resigned from AID, they'd rejoiced.
Now they stood before her… acting friendly?
Ndeshi moved to hug her. Vicky stiffened.
"I… was expecting my family. But thank you, really, for your concern," she said politely, hiding her confusion.
"Are you in pain?" the nurse asked.
"You just said I'm healed. So what happened to me? Why isn't my brother or sister here?" Vicky demanded.
Karen and Ndeshi exchanged a glance. They were unsettled—Vicky didn't recognize them.
"Paige, enough," Karen snapped.
Vicky tilted her head. "Wait. Are you confused?"
"What do you mean?" Karen asked.
"Why are you calling me Paige?"
"She said she's fine," Karen told the nurse.
"She is—physically…" the nurse replied, hesitating.
"She's messed up. Check her again!" Ndeshi barked.
"Hey, look at me. These are handcuffs!" Karen said, waving at Vicky's restrained hands.
"I can see that. Am I arrested? Where's my family?" Vicky asked, bewildered.
"Stop it! Your cover is blown. We've taken you in!" Ndeshi said sharply.
"What?!"
"She's acting," Ndeshi muttered. "She's clever. Don't fall for it."
"What is happening?" Vicky cried.
"Paige…" the nurse tried again.
"I'm not Paige!" Vicky screamed—then suddenly slumped, unconscious.
Moments later, the door opened. The masked boss and his black-suited men entered.
"Wake her up," the boss ordered.
"Sir… she's passed out," the nurse said nervously.
Karen and Ndeshi rushed in.
"She was just talking seconds ago!" Karen said.
"She's showing signs of memory loss," the nurse explained.
"No!" Ndeshi cried, remembering how Karen had struck Vicky with a metal rod during the abduction.
"She's faking. Paige is the most talented spy we've ever seen. Don't fall for her innocent act," Karen insisted.
"She insists she's not Paige," the nurse said.
Vicky's eyes fluttered open. She saw black suits. A masked figure. Guns.
The boss raised his weapon at the nurse.
"You're useless." He shot her—right in front of Vicky's eyes.
She's horrified. Terror flooded her veins.
"Call another doctor. And bring her to me," the boss barked.
"What have we done?" Karen whispered in horror.
"We shouldn't have knocked her out," Ndeshi muttered. "Now Dad's going to remain locked up…"
"…and shoot that worthless AID agent," the boss added coldly. The girls fled in fear of their father.
The man assigned to bring Vicky approached her bed.
She was gone.
He scanned the room, spotted her slumped beside the bed, seemingly unconscious. He unlocked the cuffs and leaned down—
SLAP!
He crumpled.
Victor Samuels, a man feared for his wrath, had a reputation. When angered, the world trembled beneath him. One slap from him could end a fight before it began. That rage—raw and untamed—had been passed down to his daughter.
Vicky. Victoria Samuels.
The guard lay unconscious. Vicky, shaking, backed away.
Elsewhere in the compound…
Karen rushed to the holding cell. "No… no, no! He's gone! You can't kill my father, please!"
She ran to the boss, now lounging in the living room.
Back at AID headquarters…
"Try again," Evan ordered. Ruben was furiously redialing.
"It's not connecting," he muttered.
"Relax, Evan," Natasha said gently.
"Relax? Did you just say RELAX?" Evan shouted, eyes blazing. "My sister is out there with monsters, maybe being tortured. And you want me to be calm?! You're all to blame!"
"Evan, don't—" Robert started.
"No! We were happy. We had one goal, one worry. Then you people showed up! Now look!"
"Enough!" Robert snapped. "We're trying. We will fix this."
"I've got him!" Ruben interrupted. They crowded around.
A voice crackled through the speaker.
"Agents… I don't have much time. The boss ordered my execution. They brought someone in… a girl named Paige. But something's wrong with her. She didn't meet their expectations."
"Paige?! No. Simon, it's Evan—Paige is—" Evan began.
"Shh!" Ruben hissed.
"Simon, describe the room you're in," Ruben asked calmly.
"Painted black. No windows. Just a black room," Simon said.
Ruben's eyes sharpened.
"I know who's behind all this," he said, standing abruptly.
"Where are you going?" Robert asked.
"Don't follow me. I'll bring your sister back," Ruben said.
"Wait—what?!" Evan said, stunned.
Without another word, Ruben disappeared through the door.
Evan, Natasha, and Robert looked at each other.
Then followed him.
In secret.