The soft hum of servers filled the underground safehouse as Lyra sat in silence, her eyes fixed on the decrypted data in front of her. The words blurred slightly, but her mind was crystal clear.
Project Phantom was never about justice.
It was about control.
Surveillance.
Elimination.
She and Leo hadn’t just been targets.
They were test subjects.
Classified as “rogue variables,” the project had flagged them as digital threats capable of destabilizing global corporate systems. They were being tracked—not just by Ethan…
But by something far more dangerous.
And now Ethan Vaughn was marked too.
The game had changed.
Ethan leaned against the wall, arms folded, watching Lyra.
She looked different here.
No longer the sarcastic intern.
No longer the mysterious hacker trying to hide.
She looked like someone who had been betrayed, again and again, and still refused to break.
He respected that.
Maybe a little too much.
When she finally looked up, her expression was unreadable.
“We’re not just being watched,” she said. “We’re being used.”
He stepped forward. “I know.”
The way he said it—calm, resigned—made her blood run cold.
"You knew about this before I found the file?"
Ethan paused, his jaw tightening. "I suspected. I didn’t have proof."
Lyra stood up slowly, her tone razor-sharp. “So you used me to get to Leo.”
He met her gaze. “I was protecting my company.”
She took a step closer, eyes flashing. “No. You were protecting your control. You always do.”
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Ethan said something that stunned her.
"I was trying to protect you too."
Her breath caught. “From what?”
His voice dropped. “From yourself.”
The silence between them stretched, heavy with tension—not just from the danger they were in, but from something deeper.
Lyra’s voice was quieter now. “Why me, Ethan? Why did you single me out from the beginning?”
He hesitated. Just for a second.
Then: “Because I knew the moment I saw you that you weren’t afraid of me.”
A pause.
“And the ones who aren’t afraid of me… are the ones who always get too close.”
Lyra’s chest tightened, but she didn’t show it.
Instead, she smiled—dark and sweet.
“Maybe you should’ve kept your distance, then.”
Ethan’s gaze dropped briefly to her lips. “Too late.”
The tension snapped.
For a moment, everything else disappeared—the threats, the surveillance, the secrets—and it was just him and her.
A whisper of heat.
A heartbeat of hesitation.
And then—
he kissed her.
It wasn’t soft.
It wasn’t slow.
It was a clash of fire and fury—built from too many close calls, too many near betrayals.
Lyra kissed him back, her hands fisting the front of his shirt, pulling him closer before logic could catch up.
But when it finally did—
She pulled away, breathless.
“We can’t,” she whispered.
“I know,” Ethan said, his voice rough. “But I don’t care.”
She stepped back. Her heart pounding. Her mind screaming.
This was a line they couldn’t afford to cross.
Not now. Not with so much at stake.
And yet…
They already had.
The quiet buzz of Lyra’s laptop interrupted the silence.
She turned slowly, eyes widening as a new encrypted message appeared.
From Leo.
"They found me."
"Run."
Lyra froze.
Ethan’s voice was low and sharp. “What is it?”
She turned to him, her face pale. “They’re coming. For all of us.”
---
End of Chapter 20
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Updated 25 Episodes
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments