"Project Falcon. Code Red, General." My voice was steady. It left no room for argument.

General Thompson stared at me. He was speechless. He studied my face, then my posture. He turned and left the office. He didn't say a word.

A man in a sharp black suit entered. He moved with silent efficiency. "Miss Curry," he murmured. "Garth sends his regards."

A sudden chill ran down my spine. My instincts flared. Something felt wrong.

Before I could react, a deafening explosion ripped through the building. The world went black.

I woke up in darkness. My head throbbed. My arms and legs were bound. I was in a confined space. Rubble pressed against me.

Cassidy's voice. Distorted. Filled with a manic glee. "She' s finally caught! The traitor! She leaked our mission! It's all her fault!"

"She kidnapped Benedict!" Her voice rose to a shriek. "She' s dangerous! The Curry heiress is missing because of her!"

Cedric's face appeared in the dim light. His eyes were cold. Filled with a terrifying emptiness. "She endangered Benedict. She will pay for this."

"We will use her body as a warning," he said. His voice was flat. Deadly.

He looked down at me. His eyes were devoid of emotion. "You chose this, Eleanor."

"Set the charges," he ordered. His voice was calm. Too calm. "Bury her. Let the rubble crush her."

His gaze was unsettling. "Her blood will be a sacrifice for Benedict. And for the Curry Group. They won't question it."

I thrashed against my bonds. A surge of adrenaline. I needed to get out. I needed to tell him. To tell them all.

I saw a sliver of light. A small opening. I strained. I pulled. I crawled. My fingers scraped against the rough concrete.

Almost free.

Then Cedric's finger. He pressed a button. A remote detonator.

A blinding flash. A deafening roar. The world exploded around me.

My parents. Their faces, smiling. My wedding day. The white dress. The vows.

"To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."

My tears fell.

Cedric's comms device crackled. A frantic voice. "Sir! Urgent! The Curry Group has located the heiress! They're mobilizing!"

"They'll be on site in thirty minutes!" The voice was urgent. Desperate.

Cedric stared at his comm device. He was frozen. "The heiress? Here?" He whispered, disbelief lacing his voice.

The sky darkened. Not with clouds. With the shadows of massive aircraft. A fleet of sleek, black helicopters. They converged on our position.

Each helicopter bore a distinctive crest. A falcon, mid-flight, clutching a lightning bolt. The Curry Group emblem.

Cassidy gasped, pointing. "Look at that! Their private army! So impressive!" Her voice was tinged with envy.

Cedric' s eyes scanned the scene. He saw the precision. The power. He understood. The heiress was here. And something had gone wrong. Very wrong.

"Imagine being that powerful," Cassidy murmured, her eyes gleaming. "To command such loyalty. And a name like Curry. Sounds so strong. Not like... some people." She shot a glance at me. "Poor Eleanor, always so ordinary."

Cedric's gaze lingered on the crest. "Curry," he repeated. A strange echo in his mind.

His encrypted comms device vibrated. It was a direct line. He answered.

"Hopkins! What the hell is going on down there?!" General Thompson's voice roared. "The Curry Group is furious! They're accusing us of negligence! Of endangering their heir!"

Cedric stiffened. "Sir, I… I don't understand."

"You don't understand, Hopkins?! They're saying their heiress was in your sector! And she's been compromised! If anything happens to her, your career, your unit, your life, is over!"

Cassidy, emboldened, grabbed the comm device. "It's not his fault, sir! The heiress was reckless! She wandered into a dangerous zone!" She shrieked, "She tried to sabotage us!"

Cedric ripped the device from her hand. His face was thunderous. "Shut up, Cassidy!" His voice was low. Dangerous.

He turned back to the comms. "Sir, with all due respect, the Curry Group is known for its... extreme protectiveness. Their heiress is practically untouchable."

Cassidy's face drained of color. She realized her mistake. The Curry Group. Untouchable.

Cedric ended the call. He rubbed his temples. He was clearly rattled.

"We need to get to the command center. Now." He grabbed Cassidy's arm. "You're coming with me."

His mind, however, kept drifting back to me. Eleanor. My face, bruised. My body, hurt.

He needed to find me. He needed to make sense of this. This divorce. This accusation.

He would go to the hospital first. He needed to talk to me. He needed answers.

A knot tightened in his stomach. A sense of dread.

He pushed open the door to my hospital room. The room was empty. The bed was stripped.

A chill ran through him. The room was cold. Sterile. A dark stain marred the pristine white floor.

"Eleanor!" His voice was a strangled cry. He rushed in. "Eleanor! Where are you?"

Cassidy, standing behind him, noticed something. "Cedric, look!" She pointed to a small, glowing device on the bedside table. A voice recorder.

She pressed play.

Eleanor's voice. It filled the empty hospital room. It was cold. Full of a furious resentment Cedric had never heard.

"Cedric, you fool. You thought I wouldn't find out? About you and Cassidy? About your betrayal?" The voice was laced with heartbreak. "I will make you regret every single moment. I will shatter your world the way you shattered mine."

Cassidy snatched the recorder. She threw it against the wall. It shattered.

"She's insane, Cedric! She's dangerous! She's out to get us!" Cassidy clung to his arm, trembling. "She fabricated that! She's trying to ruin your career!"

Cedric's chest heaved. He closed his eyes. His body trembled.

"Her life, her death," he rasped, his voice raw with pain, "It means nothing to me now."

Cedric stood in the briefing room. His mind was elsewhere. He fidgeted with the comms device in his hand.

He accidentally pressed play. The voice. Eleanor's voice. It filled the room.

His teammates looked at him. Their eyes were questioning. A few suppressed snickers.

Cedric lunged for the device. His face burned. He needed to shut it off.

He paused. His hand stopped mid-air. The voice. It was Eleanor's. But something was wrong. The cadence. The tone.

He raised the volume. He listened closely. His face grew paler and paler.

He remembered my real laugh. My quiet voice. The way I spoke when I was truly upset. It wasn't this theatrical. This... vengeful.

He slammed his fist on the table. He stood up. He pushed his chair back. It scraped loudly across the floor. "I have to go back to the hospital. Now."

Cassidy grabbed his arm. "Cedric, no! We have a mission! You can't just abandon your team!"

He shook her off. "Something is wrong. Eleanor… she might be in trouble."

His teammates blocked his path. "Sir, General Thompson's orders. No one leaves."

"My wife is missing!" Cedric roared. "My wife!"

"The Curry Group explicitly stated that you and Cassidy must remain here," one of them said. His voice was apologetic.

Cedric's jaw tightened. He swung. His fist connected with the man's jaw.

Chaos erupted. Several men rushed him. They tried to restrain him.

The doors burst open. A squad of men in dark suits entered. Their faces were grim.

The lead man, a hulking figure, moved with terrifying speed. He grabbed Cedric. He flung him across the room. Cedric hit the wall with a sickening thud.

Cedric roared, pushing himself up. His eyes were bloodshot. He glared at the intruders.

The door creaked open again. A new voice. Cold. Clear. It cut through the tension in the room.

"Looking for me, Cedric?" I stood there. Framed in the doorway.