The city lights blurred through the windshield as Ruben's car sped down the road. Rage simmered beneath his skin—boiling, uncontained. The air inside the vehicle was thick with tension.
"I didn't know your parents live in Windhoek…" Natasha said quietly, her voice barely slicing through the silence.
"Where's Robert?" Ruben snapped.
"He had something urgent to attend to," she replied, avoiding his gaze.
Ruben clenched his fists on the steering wheel.
"So there's no solution for my sister?" Evan's voice cracked with desperation. No one answered. The silence said more than any words could.
Meanwhile, Karen was on the move. She realized they were all looking for Paige. So she did the only thing she could think of—she hid her.
"Okay... okay… we're safe here. But I don't have much time left. Give me the device," Karen demanded, urgency dripping from her words.
"No," Vicky said, her tone flat, unwavering.
"Wow…" Karen muttered, folding her arms.
"What?" Vicky asked sharply.
"I need it to save my father! Just because you failed to save yours doesn't mean I'm less capable!" Karen's words struck Vicky like a blade—cruel, calculated.
Vicky stood in stunned silence, her mouth parting slightly. The wound was emotional, raw. But she didn't respond.
Downstairs, the guards regrouped—no sign of Vicky.
"She never left the building," one of them confirmed, showing CCTV footage.
The Boss growled, pacing. "Where's Karen? Where's Ndeshi?"
"They might have escaped, sir."
Back in the corridors, Vicky had already made her move. She freed Simon from the cell and helped the girls slip past security.
"Follow my lead," she instructed them firmly.
They crept through the shadows—until a guard spotted them.
"Stop!" he shouted.
Within seconds, they were surrounded. A dozen guards, guns aimed and fingers tense.
"Don't move…" a low, chilling voice echoed as the Boss entered the room.
"Paige Samuels… the one and only," he sneered, walking slowly toward Vicky.
"Step back," Vicky warned.
"My every step costs a life, little girl. They say you're worth over a thousand dollars. I just had to see the merchandise for myself," he said with a twisted smile through his mask.
"What? You want to keep me as a slave? Torture me like you did him?" she snapped, nodding toward Simon. "I won't even question your humanity—cowards like you hide their faces when facing the truth."
The Boss raised his hand. A guard stepped forward.
Vicky pressed the AID Device.
Suddenly, the air shimmered. The room's entire environment shifted. Every weapon in the guards' hands deactivated—magazines ejected, triggers jammed. Guns dropped to the floor, useless.
"What the hell is happening?" the Boss barked, stunned.
Vicky stepped forward, a defiant fire in her eyes. "I'm Vicky. I don't negotiate. I act. Run!"
The girls and Simon bolted for the exit.
The Boss rushed to retrieve his own weapon—only to find it dead, disarmed like the rest.
"It's just you and me now," Vicky said, facing him. "No weapons. Just us."
Behind her, a guard approached with a metal rod, silent as a ghost. The Boss saw him but didn't warn her.
"I'll kill you," he hissed, "don't test me."
As he distracted Vicky, the guard struck.
A sickening thud echoed through the room as metal met flesh.
Vicky crumpled to the floor as she's shot in the hand.
Outside, Karen, Ndeshi, and Simon burst through the exit. The cold air hit them like a slap.
Simon pulled his daughters into a tight, trembling hug.
"Thank God, Pops," Ndeshi whispered, tears in her eyes.
"I'm so proud of you girls… and I love you," Simon said, his voice cracking.
"We love you too," Karen replied, holding him tightly.
"Now let's go—before that masked bastard finds us again," Ndeshi urged.
"Paige is still inside. She's the mastermind behind all this," Karen objected, glancing back.
"We're the masterminds," Ndeshi shot back. "Paige just jumped in today. Besides—she's Paige. She can handle herself. We don't have time!"
"I'm not leaving her," Karen said, determined.
"She saved me," Simon added. "We can't just abandon her."
"Pops, you almost died! And you want to go back in there? No. Not happening." Ndeshi grabbed his arm and started pulling him away.
But Karen didn't follow. Her conscience screamed louder than her fear.
She doubled back—stealth mode. She slipped through the corridors, heart pounding. Then she saw it:
Two guards dragging Vicky's limp body away.
"Paige?" Karen whispered in fear, barely able to breathe.