The Warehouse: The Dark Room]
The air in the abandoned dockside warehouse was thick with the smell of rusted iron and salt. Jay was bound to a heavy wooden chair in the center of a single pool of light. Her breathing was shallow, her face bruised from where one of the guards had struck her when she tried to fight back.
Yuri walked slowly around her, a surgical blade glinting between his fingers. He wasn't a businessman; he was a butcher who enjoyed the "Process."
"You know, Jay," Yuri whispered, leaning in so close she could smell the stale vodka on his breath. "Keifer Watson thinks he is a god because he can manipulate numbers. But I? I manipulate nerves. I want to see how much 'Glow' you have left when I start peeling back the layers."
The Torture: System Breach
[Jay's POV]
I gasped as the cold steel of the blade pressed against the skin of my shoulder. A thin line of fire followed the metal. I didn't scream. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing the Empress break.
"Keifer... will kill you," I spat, my voice hoarse. "He won't just take your ports. He will erase your entire bloodline."
Yuri laughed—a dry, hacking sound. He grabbed my hair, jerking my head back. "He has to find you first. And by the time he does, you will be a broken machine."
He signaled to one of his men, who brought over a car battery and two lead wires. My heart plummeted. This wasn't about information; this was about sending a message to Keifer written in my pain.
"Let's see if your 'Software' can handle a power surge," Yuri sneered.
The first jolt hit my frame, and the world exploded into white light. Every muscle in my body seized. I felt like my bones were vibrating until they would shatter. I finally screamed—a jagged, agonizing sound that echoed off the high rafters of the warehouse.
The Monitoring: The Coldest CEO
[Keifer's POV]
I was in the back of the armored SUV, my eyes fixed on the tablet in my lap. Keigan had managed to hack into the warehouse's internal CCTV.
The screen flickered to life. I saw her. I saw Jay tied to that chair. I saw Yuri laughing as he touched the wires to her skin. I saw my wife—my Constant—convulsing in pain.
The sound of her scream came through the speakers.
The pen in my hand snapped in half. I didn't yell. I didn't cry. My heart rate actually dropped into a terrifying, icy calm. This was the "Zero-State."
"Keigan," I said, my voice as flat as a grave. "ETA."
"Three minutes, Keif. We've bypassed the perimeter sensors. The tactical team is in position."
"Change the orders," I commanded, looking at the screen as Yuri raised the blade again. "I don't want a tactical breach. I want a total liquidation. Leave Yuri for me. If anyone else is breathing when I enter that room, it will be considered a failure of your contract."
[Jay's POV: The Fading Signal]
The second jolt was worse. I felt my consciousness flickering, the "Safe Mode" trying to pull me back into the dark to protect me.
I'm sorry, Keif, I thought, my head lollng to the side as Yuri prepped the blade for my neck. I couldn't hold the line.
"Goodbye, Empress," Yuri whispered, raising the knife.
CRASH.
The entire north wall of the warehouse didn't just break—it exploded. A black SUV barreled through the brickwork, the roar of the engine sounding like a beast from hell.
The lights went out. High-intensity infrared beams cut through the dust. The sound of silenced gunfire hissed through the air like vipers—thip, thip, thip.
Yuri spun around, his eyes wide. "WHAT—"
A shadow moved faster than a human should. A hand made of iron gripped Yuri's wrist, and I heard the sickening crunch of bone. Yuri's scream joined mine in the rafters.
"You touched the Constant," a voice growled from the darkness. It was the coldest sound I had ever heard. "Now, I delete your reality."