The name on the screen burned into Cynthia's mind, her breath caught between disbelief and fury.
Lena.
It didn't make sense. It couldn't.
Marla saw the name at the same time and tensed, her fingers curling into fists. Prometheus's voice crackled over the comms, unaware of the revelation. "I'm in the server room. I don't see anything unusual yet."
Cynthia's hands were frozen over the keyboard. She couldn't bring herself to say it.
Marla did.
"Stand down, Prometheus." Her voice was cold steel. "We have our mole."
Silence. Then a clipped response. "Who?"
Marla turned to Cynthia, waiting.
Cynthia clenched her jaw, swallowing back the wave of emotions crashing over her. "It's… Lena."
A stunned pause. Then Prometheus spoke, slower this time. "Say that again."
Lena—her best friend, her most trusted confidante.
The one who had stood by her through every impossible challenge.
The one who had just betrayed them all.
Before Cynthia could react, movement flickered in the corner of her vision. A shadow at the doorway.
Lena.
She wasn't running. She wasn't hiding. She stood there, hands in her pockets, her face unreadable.
"I was wondering when you'd figure it out," Lena said quietly.
Cynthia rose slowly from her chair, her heart hammering. "Tell me it's not true."
Lena sighed. "You already know the answer."
Marla's hand twitched toward her holster. "Give me one reason not to detain you right now."
Lena's gaze flickered to her, then back to Cynthia. "Because you need me."
Cynthia's stomach twisted. "For what?"
Lena exhaled, her expression unreadable. "To survive what's coming next."