The last time Lina saw her brother, he was smiling as he hugged her goodbye.
Now, he stood in a dim bunker with a pistol pointed at her face.
The room smelled of sweat, dust, and betrayal.
"Karim," she whispered. "Is this who you are now?"
His face didn't soften. His hands didn't shake.
"You shouldn't have come here, Lina."
"You sent men to kill me."
"I warned you not to chase shadows."
She stepped forward. "You were never a shadow. You were my brother."
Karim's jaw clenched. "You don't understand what I've seen. What I've done to survive. This world isn't black and white anymore."
"No. But you made it bloody."
Behind her, Zaid tensed. Still watching. Still aiming.
Karim's gaze flicked to him. "You brought her here, didn't you?"
"She followed the truth," Zaid said, his voice steady. "You just forgot how to live in it."
Karim laughed—cold, hollow. "And you, Zaid? The traitor? You think she'll still kiss you when she finds out what you really did?"
Zaid's eyes didn't waver. But Lina felt something tighten in her chest.
"What's he talking about?" she asked.
Zaid didn't answer.
So Karim did.
"Ask him who gave me your location in Istanbul. Ask him who delivered you back into my orbit, thinking he could flip you into joining our cause."
Lina's blood ran cold. "No..."
Zaid's face was carved in guilt. "I thought I could protect you."
"You sold me."
"I never meant—"
Karim raised his gun.
"I should kill you both," he said. "One for betrayal. One for betrayal of blood."
And Lina?
She stepped between them.
"Do it," she said, looking her brother in the eye. "Shoot me. But know this—you kill me, and I become louder than ever. Every file in that archive has a trigger upload. The moment I go silent, the world learns what you've done. Who you've become."
Karim's hands trembled.
"You were the one person I wanted to protect," he whispered.
"And you became the man I needed protecting from."
Something broke in him. Not a sob. Not a shout. Just the lowering of the gun.
Zaid moved—fast. Disarmed him, slammed him against the wall, handcuffed him before Lina could blink.
"Camp security will be here in seconds," Zaid said. "We have to move."
Karim didn't fight. He just stared at Lina.
"I hope the world you're saving is worth the price," he said.
Lina swallowed. "So do I."
They escaped through an old drainage tunnel beneath the barracks. Karim's unconscious body over Zaid's shoulder. Lina behind, holding the pistol now.
Outside, the cold mountain air burned her lungs.
But the betrayal burned hotter.