His Bride, Her Revenge-Chapter 68: A Dangerous Game

The night before the mission felt like the calm before a cataclysm.

Cambria stood alone on the rooftop of the Brooklyn warehouse, the cold wind whipping her hair around her face. She gazed out across the jagged skyline, where the city throbbed with life and restless energy. Below, the streets glowed with amber lights, cars traced endless ribbons, and somewhere distant, sirens howled. But inside her, there was a stillness, a silence that was anything but peaceful, a storm held back by sheer will.

She wrapped her arms around herself, the weight of what lay ahead pressing down on her chest. Tonight would change everything. If they failed, there would be no second chances. If they succeeded, the cost would be enormous.

Behind her, footsteps approached softly. Maddox stepped onto the rooftop carrying two steaming mugs of coffee. He extended one to her, the warmth in the cup an attempt to reach the cold fortress she’d become.

"You should rest," he said quietly.

Cambria didn’t take the cup. Her eyes never left the horizon, where the first hint of dawn blurred the stars.

"There’s no sleep left in me, Maddox. Not until we burn it all down."

He studied her carefully, searching for the fierce resolve etched in her features.

"What if there’s nothing left when it’s over?"

She turned to him, eyes blazing with defiance.

"Then we rebuild. But we end this first."

At dawn, Julian spread the blueprint of the hidden facility across the war table. The worn paper crackled under the harsh fluorescent lights of their makeshift command center.

"This is it," Julian said, pointing. "A repurposed Cold War bunker buried beneath a decommissioned research complex deep in rural New York."

The lines traced out the compound, four floors in total, two of them subterranean. Cameras and sensors covered every angle, internal lockdown protocols that could seal the place in minutes, and biometric locks protecting every door.

"The children are held on the lowest level," he said, voice low. "One wrong move and the whole structure could collapse on top of them."

Cambria leaned in, scanning every detail with surgical precision.

"Then we go to surgery. Quiet, fast, non-lethal. We get in, get them out, and disappear before they even know we were there."

Julian frowned, skeptical.

"Blackwood’s expecting a frontal assault. We’ll use that to our advantage."

Maddox nodded.

Decoy teams create chaos in the southern corridor. We infiltrate through the north tunnel into the old aqueduct system."

Cambria’s gaze sharpened.

"How do we secure the children? Sedated for hours, maybe days?"

Julian pulled up a system diagram.

"They use a neuro-gas compound, pumped through a central distribution system. Disable that, and the kids wake up."

Cambria exhaled slowly.

"And Blackwood?"

Julian’s jaw tightened.

"Leave him to me."

Maddox cut in firmly.

"No. We face him together. No one goes it alone."

The Infiltration – 2:14 AM

The night air was thick and heavy, clinging to their skin like sweat as they moved silently through the narrow aqueduct tunnel. The cold concrete swallowed every sound but the soft hum of their headlamps.

Julian led the way, with Cambria just behind and Maddox covering the rear. Their breaths were shallow, each step measured and silent.

Reaching the maintenance hatch, Julian crouched beside it.

"Three guards up ahead. Silencers on."

Seconds later, the guards lay unconscious, and the trio slipped through the hatch into the control corridor. Cambria disabled the central alarm system using a code memorized from the flash drive.

Julian spoke softly into his radio.

"Initiate distraction."

From the southern end of the complex, a controlled explosion shattered the stillness. Sirens blared, floodlights danced across the walls, and guards rushed toward the chaos.

"We’re clear," Maddox whispered. "Move."

Descending into the lower levels, the walls morphed from steel to sterile white. The antiseptic smell stung their nostrils, a harsh contrast to the dank tunnel behind them.

Cambria’s hand trembled as she pushed open the final heavy door.

Inside, rows of transparent capsules bathed in eerie blue light lined the room. Inside each, a child slept, connected to tubes and monitors.

Her heart slammed against her ribs as she rushed forward.

Julian found the control panel and crouched beside it.

"Password-protected. Two-factor authentication. We need more time."

Cambria nodded, swallowing hard.

"Work fast."

Suddenly, behind them, the door slammed shut with a heavy thud.

A voice echoed through the intercom, dripping with cold satisfaction.

"Welcome, Cambria. I wondered when you’d arrive."

It was Grayson Blackwood.

His voice was venomous.

"You came to save children who don’t even know your name. How noble. How naive."

Maddox drew his weapon.

"We came to end this."

"Then end it," Blackwood hissed. "But first... a gift."

One of the capsules hissed open.

A boy stepped out taller than Cambria remembered. A teenager, seventeen maybe. His eyes locked onto hers.

"Mom?"

Her knees buckled.

"No," she whispered. "That’s not possible. My son..."

Blackwood’s voice cut in, cold and unyielding.

"This is the first. Project Genesis’ greatest success. You thought we started with your son? He was the final piece. This one was the prototype."

Julian froze.

"My God. He’s... accelerated. Genetically enhanced. Conditioned."

The boy stepped forward.

"They said you abandoned me."

Tears streamed down Cambria’s face.

"I didn’t know you existed."

Maddox moved beside her.

"We won’t let them use you. Not anymore."

But the boy raised his hand, revealing a weapon molded into his palm.

"You won’t leave," he said quietly. "Father said you’d lie. He said if you tried to take the others, I was to stop you."

Cambria’s voice trembled.

"You don’t have to obey him. You have a choice."

He stared at her, torn.

"Do I?"

Julian finished hacking the system.

The sedation gas stopped flowing.

One by one, the children inside the capsules began to stir.

Cambria stepped forward slowly.

"You are more than what they made you."

The boy flinched, conflicted.

Then Blackwood’s voice rose over the intercom.

"Execute them. Now. Or I end you all."

Silence.

Then the boy turned

And fired.

Julian leapt in front of Cambria.

The bullet struck his chest.

Cambria screamed.

Maddox tackled the boy to the ground.

Julian collapsed, blood blooming beneath him, his hand reaching desperately toward Cambria.

"Tell him... he was always mine."

Cambria’s heart shattered into pieces.

The boy stared down at the scene, shaking.

"What have I done?"

Behind the glass wall, Grayson Blackwood smiled, lips curled into a dark promise.

"Let the games begin."