Page 76 of Rescuing Sophia

“How long have you been planning for this? And why weren’t we informed?” I grind out the words, barely keeping my rising anger in check.

“We needed to monitor the activity,” Mitzy continues, her voice steady despite the rising tension. “To let the breach run its course so we could trace it back to the source. If we’d acted immediately, we might have spooked them and lost our chance to uncover the full extent of the infiltration.”

The rage that’s been simmering inside me suddenly boils over. Islam my hands on the table, the sharp crack echoing through the room. “You knew? You knew, and you did nothing?”

Mitzy flinches at my outburst but holds her ground. “Blake, we had to?—”

“No.” I cut her off, my voice raw with emotion. “If you’d acted immediately, we could have caught Sophia. She wouldn’t be missing now. She wouldn’t be in danger.”

The room falls silent. My words hang heavy in the air. Ethan steps forward, his hand on my shoulder, but I shrug it off.

“Blake, I understand you’re upset, but?—”

“Upset?” I laugh, the sound harsh and bitter. “Upset doesn’t begin to cover it. You used her as bait. You put her in danger. And for what? To catch Malfor? Was it worth it?”

The silence that follows is deafening. I look around the room at the faces of people I’ve trusted with my life, and for the first time, I feel like a stranger among them.

“We had no choice.” Forest’s deep voice breaks the silence. “The risk was too great. If Malfor succeeded in infiltrating us undetected, the consequences would be catastrophic.”

I face him, my anger giving way to a bone-deep weariness. “And what about the consequences for Sophia? What about her life?”

The room erupts in a cacophony of voices. Confusion, anger, and disbelief war for dominance.

No one has an answer for that. As the reality of our situation settles over the room, I can’t help but wonder: in our quest to save the world, have we lost sight of the individuals we’re meant to protect?

“What the hell, Mitzy?” Gabe’s voice rises above the rest. “You’re telling us you knew this was coming?”

“Yes and no,” Mitzy cuts through the rising tension, making things even more unclear. She pulls up a new screen, lines of code scrolling faster than I can follow. “We implemented a Trojan Horse when we suspected a breach might occur. It’s part of Protocol Zero.”

My blood runs cold as the pieces click into place. “You used usas bait,” I growl, my fists clenching at my sides. “You used Sophia as bait.”

Mitzy holds up her hands, her eyes wide. “It’s not like that. We’ve been expecting Malfor to make a move like this for months. We never suspected it would be Sophia, but we had to be prepared for the eventuality.”

The anger bubbling in my chest threatens to overflow. “So you just let it happen? You let her walk into this trap?”

“We didn’t know it would be her,” Mitzy shouts back.

Before I can respond, a booming voice cuts through the chaos.

“Enough.” Forest steps forward, his imposing frame casting a shadow across the table. The room falls silent under his stern gaze.

“The decision to keep the true intent of Protocol Zero secret was mine,” Forest says, his voice leaving no room for argument. “We couldn’t risk tipping our hand. If Malfor suspected we were onto him, we’d lose our best chance at bringing him down.”

“With all due respect, sir,” Ethan’s voice is tight with controlled anger, “we’re supposed to be a team. You cut us out of the loop.”

Forest’s expression softens slightly. “I know, and I didn’t make that decision lightly. But sometimes, hard choices must be made for the greater good.”

The weight of his words settles over the room. I want to argue, to rage against the injustice of it all. But a small part of me understands the logic, even as it tears me apart.

“So what now?” I ask, my voice hoarse with emotion. “How do we find Sophia?”

Forest’s gaze meets mine, a mix of sympathy and determination in his eyes. “We use every tool at our disposal. The Trojan Horse, the badge data, everything. We find Sophia, stop Malfor, and end this once and for all.”

TWENTY-SIX

Blake

As the teamrallies around this new directive, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re playing catch-up in a game where the rules have suddenly changed.

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