Page 52 of Whispers in the Quarter

“That’s your first mistake,” Ethan moves further into the warehouse, and there’s something different about his movements. Something predatory. “Thinking this is her battle. Thinking you understand what’s happening here at all.”

Lucas practically vibrates beside me. “Watch closely, my Chimera. This is what happens when righteousness embraces its shadow side.”

“You killed Lauren,” Ethan continues, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Used her death to manipulate me, to protect your organization. And now you’re trying to do the same thing with Sarah.”

Alex’s composure slips slightly. “How do you?—”

“Know her real name?” Ethan’s laugh holds echoes of Lucas’s madness. “I know everything, Alex. About Sarah and Celeste, about the organization, about every death you’ve orchestrated. I’ve always known. I just needed... permission to do something about it.”

“Permission?” Alex’s hand moves toward his weapon.

“To become what I’ve always been.” Ethan’s smile is pure predator now. “A monster hunter who finally stopped pretending he wasn’t a monster himself.”

“Now!” Ethan’s command cracks through the air. Ally throws off her fake bonds, rolling clear as Jazz’s musicians emerge from the shadows—my brilliant man had his whole band backing us up. Lucas’s laughter echoes off metal walls as his own people secure the exits, all carrying evidence bags and recording equipment.

“What is this?” Alex’s composure cracks completely.

“This,” Ethan moves closer, that new darkness rolling off him in waves, “is what happens when you push the wrong righteous man into shadows. When you kill someone he loves and then dare to use her memory as a bargaining chip.”

“You don’t understand what you’re dealing with,” Alex warns, but his voice has lost its smooth control. “The organization?—”

“Has already been compromised.” Ethan’s smile is terrible in its calmness. “While you were focused on controlling yourlittle shadow, watching her every move, you missed what was happening right under your nose. Every shipment, every document, every piece of evidence... all carefully collected and distributed to multiple agencies.”

I can’t help but gasp. Lucas squeezes my hand, practically dancing with glee. “Didn’t I tell you, my Chimera? The most beautiful experiments are the ones where the subject surprises even the scientist.”

“You’re bluffing,” Alex says, but his eyes dart toward the exits.

“Am I?” Ethan produces a phone—his own, not the burner phones his team usually uses. “Would you like to hear today’s headlines? About the simultaneous raids happening across three states? About the councilman currently being brought in for questioning? About the evidence connecting your organization to Lauren’s death?”

Jazz whistles low beside me. “Damn, sugar. Your FBI man’s been busy.”

“He’s not mine,” I whisper, but something warm unfurls in my chest watching Ethan stalk our former mentor like prey.

“He’s ours,” Lucas corrects with possessive delight. “Just like we’re his. A perfectly balanced chemical equation.”

Alex moves with deadly speed—strike, pivot, the flash of a blade—but Ethan meets each movement with terrifying calm. Where Alex’s style is controlled precision, Ethan fights with the raw grace of a predator finally unleashed.

“You think you can beat me?” Alex taunts, dancing back from a particularly vicious strike. “I’ve been doing this since before you had your badge.”

“No,” Ethan’s voice carries that new darkness as he presses forward. “You’ve been pretending to be in control. I’ve been pretending to be righteous. Let’s see which mask breaks first.”

Their dance grows more brutal. Alex’s knife finds Ethan’s arm, drawing blood, but Ethan doesn’t even flinch. If anything, the pain seems to focus him, sharpen him. Each movement becomes more primal, more honest.

“Beautiful,” Lucas breathes beside me, his eyes fever-bright as he watches. “Look how naturally he embraces it. No hesitation, no moral conflict. Just pure, unfettered darkness.”

“Like he was born for it,” Jazz agrees softly, and I hear the same fascination in his voice that I feel in my chest.

Alex’s perfect control starts to fracture. Each attack grows more desperate as he realizes this isn’t the righteous FBI agent he expected. This is something else. Something that understands darkness from the inside.

“What did they do to you?” Alex demands, blood streaming from a split lip.

Ethan’s laugh holds echoes of Lucas’s madness. “They didn’t do anything. They just helped me stop pretending.” His next strike shatters Alex’s knee. “Stop pretending I didn’t understand the monsters I hunted.” Another hit, ribs cracking. “Stop pretending I didn’t know exactly how they think.”

Alex goes down hard. Ethan follows, hands finding our mentor’s throat with intimate precision. “Stop pretending I wasn’t one of them all along.”

“Ethan,” I whisper, but Lucas holds me back.

“Watch,” he urges, practically vibrating with excitement. “Watch what happens when righteousness and darkness finally merge.”

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