Rain pounded against the windows.

  Sid didn’t notice.

  His focus was on the screen, on the feeds, on the patterns.

  Every angle. Every exit. Every possibility.

  Phase Four is active. It starts tonight.

  He stood, moving silently through the dorm hallways, Su following behind.

  Her hair was wet from the rain. She hadn’t bothered with an umbrella.

  “Sid… are you sure about this?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said, voice steady, eyes locked forward.

  She didn’t argue. She never did.

  And that scared him more than the trap itself.

  By evening, the school was eerily quiet.

  Students had been evacuated for a sudden “security drill.”

  Sid led Su to the abandoned east wing — coordinates from the black envelope.

  The building smelled of damp wood and rust.

  Shadows shifted.

  Sid’s eyes scanned every corner.

  And then he saw them.

  Five masked figures blocking the only exit.

  And behind them… Lee’s son, calm as ever, hands folded.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Welcome,” he said. “I hope you enjoyed the chase.”

  Sid didn’t flinch.

  He moved instinctively, taking Su behind him.

  “You won’t get past me,” Lee’s son said smoothly.

  “I’ll see about that,” Sid replied, tone low.

  The fight began.

  Blinding flashes, rapid strikes, precise blocks.

  Sid moved with perfection, a lethal dance.

  But there were too many.

  One man lunged at Su.

  Sid reacted instantly, throwing himself between them.

  The knife grazed his shoulder.

  Su screamed.

  Sid caught her, shoving her behind him.

  No. Not now. Not her.

  Lee’s son circled them, watching.

  “You’re clever, Sid,” he said. “But you’ve underestimated me. And her.”

  Sid’s eyes narrowed.

  “What do you mean?”

  Lee’s son smiled.

  “You think this is about you protecting her? You’ve only delayed the inevitable.”

  Suddenly, another attack came — this time coordinated, more precise.

  Sid parried, blocked, redirected.

  But one blow got through, sending him sprawling.

  Su reached for him.

  “Sid!”

  He grabbed her hand instinctively.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  The real trap revealed itself.

  Hidden behind a curtain of shadows, a device — explosives rigged to the structure.

  Lee’s son’s voice echoed through the hall.

  “One wrong move, Sid. One. And everything you care about will burn. Literally.”

  Sid froze.

  Su’s eyes widened.

  Sid’s mind raced.

  He could disarm it… maybe.

  But every second was precious.

  And one wrong step…

  Too dangerous.

  Su’s grip on his arm tightened.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  Sid didn’t answer.

  He didn’t let himself.

  Focus. Plan. Move.

  He sprinted toward the device.

  Su followed, eyes wide with fear, clinging to him.

  Sid’s hands worked quickly, rewiring, cutting wires, analyzing triggers.

  The attackers closed in.

  Sid blocked, ducked, countered.

  Every movement calculated.

  Every second critical.

  A sudden explosion rocked the far end of the building.

  Dust, debris, the smell of smoke.

  Sid glanced — one of the attackers had triggered a secondary device.

  He grabbed Su, pulling her to the ground.

  The building shook.

  Glass shattered.

  Metal twisted.

  Sid’s heart raced.

  Not her. Not now. I won’t lose her.

  But as the dust settled, Sid realized something.

  One of the support beams cracked.

  The floor beneath them groaned.

  Su’s eyes met his.

  He wanted to say it: “It’s okay. We’ll get out.”

  But he couldn’t.

  Because he knew.

  The chapter closes with Sid pulling Su toward the only safe exit, but the ceiling above them starting to collapse.

  Her eyes are full of terror.

  His jaw is set, hands tight around hers.

  And in that instant, both of them realize: even Sid’s brilliance might not be enough.