Two days.That's how long we'd been holed up in the safehouse on the outskirts of town. It was quiet—too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes your skin itch because you know it won't last.
Vixen 02—her real name was Mira—had barely spoken since the rescue. She spent most of her time curled up on the couch, knees to her chest, flinching at every creak in the floorboards.
Trauma's a hell of a shadow.And I knew exactly how long it took to crawl out of it.
I stood at the window, watching the trees sway in the breeze like they knew secrets they weren't telling. Liam sat across the room, cleaning his gun with the same calm precision he used to plan arson.
"We hit Vale hard," he said without looking up. "But I'd bet my last bullet he's already regrouping."
"Of course he is," I muttered. "Cockroaches always survive the first stomp."
"What's the next move?"
That was the question burning a hole through my soul. We'd made noise, sure—but Vale wasn't just a man anymore. He was an infection.A network.And if I wanted to kill the monster, I had to find the root.
I pulled the flash drive from my boot—the one I stole from Vale's desk before everything went up in flames. Liam hadn't seen it. No one had. Not yet.
I plugged it into my laptop.Encrypted, of course. But Vale was predictable. I cracked the password in under five minutes.
"THE VIXEN FILES" blinked on the screen.
My blood ran cold.
Inside were dozens of folders—photos, notes, video files—all labeled with names.Girls. Lots of them.
Some were already marked "disposed."Others were still active.
Vale had built an entire human trafficking network, training girls like me—like Mira—to become leverage. Spies. Pawns.
Or worse.
"He kept everything," I whispered. "This… this is enough to take him down for good."
Liam leaned over my shoulder, eyes scanning the screen. "He's not just evil. He's organized."
I nodded slowly. "And now, he's exposed."
From the couch, Mira stirred. Her voice came out soft, but steady. "What are you going to do?"
I looked her in the eyes.
"We burn the rest of him to the ground."