Chapter 235
Chapter 235:
Camille nodded, resting her head against his chest. The steady beat of his heart grounded her in this moment of perfect contentment.
Inside the penthouse, Victoria was speaking with Hannah about tomorrow’s Grid maintenance schedule. Some things never changed. The thought made Camille smile.
“We did it,” she whispered. “We really did it.”
“The Grid?” Alexander asked.
“Everything. The Grid. Surviving Rose’s attacks. Finding our way to each other.” She looked up at him. “Living instead of just existing.”
He kissed her then, gentle and promising all at once. Above them, stars glittered in the clear night sky. Below, the city hummed with power—their power, created together.
A thunderous boom shook the early morning quiet. Orange flames shot into the dark sky as Substation 12 of the Phoenix Grid exploded. Pieces of metal and concrete flew in all directions. The night security guard, having stepped outside for a cigarette moments earlier, stared in shock from the parking lot. Three blocks away, Rose watched from the passenger seat of a stolen van, her face lit by the distant flames. A small smile played on her lips as she gazed into the night sky.
“Beautiful,” she whispered. “Just like I planned.”
Beside her, Herod gripped the steering wheel, his face tight. “Drive now, admire later,” he said, shifting the van into gear. “Security cameras might have caught us.”
As they sped away, emergency sirens began to wail in the distance. Fire trucks and police cars raced toward the burning substation.
“Phase one complete,” Rose said, her voice filled with satisfaction. “Now we wait for phase two—the system collapse.”
Herod kept his eyes on the road, his mind racing through escape routes and contingency plans. There was no going back now. They had crossed the final line.
Camille jolted awake to the sound of her phone ringing. She fumbled for it in the darkness, Alexander stirring beside her.
Lɑtєѕτ cнαρτєrs ιn g𝒶l𝑛ovєls.𝗰𝒐𝓂
“Camille Kane,” she answered, her voice still thick with sleep.
Her body tensed as she listened. “How bad?” she asked, already climbing out of bed. “How many injured?”
Alexander sat up, instantly alert at her tone.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Camille said, ending the call. She turned to Alexander, her face pale in the dim light. “Someone bombed Substation 12. No one hurt, but the Grid is destabilizing.”
“Rose,” Alexander said, it wasn’t a question.
“Has to be.” Camille pulled clothes from her closet with shaking hands. “Hannah’s already at control headquarters. The backup systems are holding for now, but if we don’t reroute power soon, we could lose the whole eastern sector.”
Alexander was already dressing. “I’ll drive you.”
They raced through the pre-dawn streets, the city still quiet except for the emergency vehicles heading toward the smoke rising in the distance. Camille clutched her— phone.
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