Chapter 40 — What It Costs to Survive
The door creaked open slowly.
Not wide enough to run through.
Not wide enough to escape.
Just wide enough to choose.
Kiera's breath came in sharp, painful bursts as the red lights flashed overhead. The alarms drilled into her skull, each pulse a reminder that time was running out. Footsteps echoed behind her—measured, unhurried. Whoever was coming knew she had nowhere to go.
Vivienne's voice floated again through the speakers, smooth and cruel.
"You always were curious, Kiera. Curiosity is expensive."
Kiera pressed her palm against the half-open door. Cold metal. Heavy. Locked by something more than fear.
"Let me go," Kiera said, her voice shaking but loud. "This ends now."
Vivienne laughed softly. "You don't get to decide when it ends."
The footsteps stopped.
A shadow stretched across the floor behind her.
Kiera turned slowly.
The elegant woman from before stood there again—Vivienne's associate. But the calm mask was gone. There was tension in her shoulders now. Urgency.
"You shouldn't have run," the woman said.
"You shouldn't have trapped me," Kiera shot back.
The woman exhaled sharply. "You don't understand what you're standing in the middle of."
"Then explain," Kiera demanded. "For once in my life, tell me the truth."
The woman hesitated. Then spoke.
"Vivienne didn't just want you gone," she said. "She wanted you broken enough to disappear quietly."
Kiera's stomach clenched. "And when that didn't work?"
The woman's jaw tightened. "She escalated."
The door in front of Kiera slid open another inch with a mechanical groan.
Behind it—darkness.
"What's in there?" Kiera asked.
The woman didn't answer.
Kiera's heart sank. "That's not a room, is it?"
"It's a transfer point," the woman said carefully. "Once you cross it, you're off-grid."
"No," Kiera whispered. "You're erasing me."
"Yes," the woman said. "That was the plan."
A tremor ran through Kiera's body—not from fear alone, but rage. Hot. Wild. Alive.
"My whole life," she said hoarsely, "people decided things for me. Where I lived. Who hurt me. Who I was allowed to love."
She took a step back from the door.
"Not this," she said. "Not again."
The woman's eyes flicked to the camera in the corner. "You don't have time to fight."
"I've been fighting since I was a child," Kiera replied. "You just never noticed."
She moved suddenly—grabbing the metal cart beside the wall and slamming it hard into the panel controls.
Sparks flew.
The alarms screamed louder.
"What are you doing?" the woman shouted.
"Buying time," Kiera yelled back.
The lights flickered violently, plunging the corridor into half-darkness. The door shuddered, then froze.
Locked.
Footsteps erupted again—multiple this time.
The woman swore under her breath. "You've made this worse."
"Good," Kiera snapped. "I want it worse."
Across the city, Kade was already moving.
"Trace the internal signal," he barked. "She's inside the site."
"We're locked out of the main grid," the analyst replied urgently. "But—wait."
Kade leaned forward. "What?"
"There's a disruption," the analyst said. "Manual damage. She triggered it."
A flicker of something fierce crossed Kade's face.
"That's my girl," he muttered.
"Sir," another voice cut in, "Vivienne's vehicle has been located."
"Where?"
"Dockside. Abandoned transfer zone."
Kade's eyes darkened. "She's trying to move Kiera."
"Not anymore," Kade said coldly. "Move."
Back in the corridor, Kiera's strength began to wane.
The adrenaline couldn't last forever.
The woman stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Listen to me. If you cooperate, I can make this painless."
Kiera laughed weakly. "You already failed."
The woman frowned. "What?"
"I'm not afraid anymore," Kiera said. "And that was your real weapon."
For the first time, uncertainty flickered across the woman's face.
Then Vivienne's voice returned—sharp now, angry.
"Enough. Bring her through."
The woman's jaw clenched. "She damaged the panel."
"Then carry her," Vivienne snapped. "We're out of time."
The woman reached for Kiera.
Kiera reacted on instinct—driving her elbow back, hard.
The woman gasped, stumbling.
Kiera ran.
Down the corridor. Past doors she didn't understand. Past cameras she no longer cared about.
Her lungs burned. Her legs screamed.
She burst through a side exit and into the night air.
Cold. Salt. Water.
The docks.
Floodlights snapped on instantly, blinding her.
"Kiera Frost," Vivienne's voice called out—this time not through speakers, but from nearby.
Kiera turned slowly.
Vivienne stood at the edge of the dock, immaculate as ever, coat fluttering in the wind. Her eyes gleamed with something dark and satisfied.
"You really are resilient," Vivienne said. "Annoyingly so."
"Why?" Kiera demanded. "Why me?"
Vivienne tilted her head. "Because you made him human."
Kiera's chest tightened.
"I spent years shaping Kade," Vivienne continued. "Hardening him. Keeping him focused. And then you arrived with your pain and your hope and your inconvenient heart."
"You don't love him," Kiera said quietly.
Vivienne smiled. "Love is irrelevant. Power isn't."
Footsteps approached behind Kiera.
She was trapped between water and enemies.
Vivienne stepped closer. "This could have ended quietly."
Kiera lifted her chin. "It still can."
Vivienne laughed. "You think he'll save you?"
Before Kiera could answer, the roar of engines tore through the night.
Black SUVs skidded into the dock, tires screaming.
"Kade!" Kiera cried.
Vivienne's smile vanished.
Kade stepped out of the lead vehicle like a storm given form—eyes wild, jaw tight, fury barely contained.
"Kiera," he breathed.
For a split second, everything stopped.
Then Vivienne reached for her gun.
"Kade—!" Kiera screamed.
A shot rang out.
The world exploded into motion.
Kade lunged.
Security shouted.
Kiera ran.
She collided with Kade just as he wrapped his arms around her, spinning them both as another shot rang out—splintering wood inches from where she'd stood.
They fell hard onto the dock.
Kade shielded her with his body, breath ragged.
"You're safe," he whispered desperately. "I've got you."
Kiera clutched him, shaking. "I thought—I thought I wouldn't see you again."
He pulled back just enough to look at her face. "Never. Do you hear me? Never."
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Vivienne stood frozen, weapon slipping from her fingers as authorities closed in.
Her eyes locked on Kiera—burning with hatred.
"This isn't over," Vivienne hissed.
Kiera met her gaze, voice steady despite the tears. "For me, it is."
Vivienne was dragged away, screaming.
As the chaos faded, Kade held Kiera tighter, as if afraid she might vanish.
She pressed her forehead to his chest, heart still racing.
"I know everything," she whispered. "About my past. About why they targeted me."
Kade's arms tightened. "I know."
"And you're still here," she said, almost disbelieving.
He pulled back, cupping her face gently. "I'm not going anywhere."
Tears streamed down her face—not from fear this time, but release.
Behind them, the dock lights flickered.
In front of them, the night stretched wide and uncertain.
They had survived.
But both of them knew the truth now—
Survival had a cost.
And the bill was coming due.