Months later, a quiet message appeared in an Interpol archive: "Project Phoenix: Neutralized. Ledger Secured. Liang-Cross Legacy Preserved."
A woman in Tokyo, eyes familiar, watched the news quietly. She sipped tea, a faint smile curving her lips. "They kept the vow," she whispered. "They understood its cost… and its meaning."
Adrian and Li Wei stood together on the New York rooftop, lanterns extinguished, city lights glowing, hearts aligned. The world would never know the full story, but they did. And in that knowledge, the vow endured—silent, powerful, and eternal.