The world burned quietly.
In every major city where the Five Families held power, strange blackouts began. Records disappeared. DNA registries fried. Anyone not cleared under the Protocol? Marked for deletion.
On underground networks, one name trended in encrypted forums:
ISABELLA MORELLO-ROMANO
Label: BIOLOGICAL WEAPON
Status: ACTIVE. OFF-CHAIN. UNCONTAINED.
Safehouse — 10:33 a.m.
Adrian stared at the static on the screen. The Council had overridden every channel.
"They're erasing everyone," he muttered. "Anyone who could challenge their new order."
Cain tightened the bandage around his arm. "Not everyone. Just the ones that bleed."
Isabella paced like a caged animal. "What does that even mean?"
Cain looked at her. "You're not like them. Not like me. You don't bleed the same."
Adrian gave him a sharp look. "You think that's a compliment?"
Cain leaned forward. "I think it means she doesn't die easy. And that terrifies them."
Adrian turned to Isabella. "You said you wanted war. This is war. What now?"
She didn't answer. Not with words.
She walked to the weapon rack and picked up a blade she hadn't touched since Julian's funeral.
Council War Room — 11:02 a.m.
Luciana stood at the center, wearing crimson like prophecy. The other Dons sat in silence.
"She has rejected every safety protocol," said Don Virelli. "She refused containment. She destroyed Reapers. And now, she's moving toward Vault Zero."
Luciana smiled faintly. "She was always meant to reject the leash. That's what makes her the anomaly."
"She's a threat," one snapped.
"No," Luciana corrected. "She's the storm that purifies."
They stared.
"Let her go for Cain," Luciana added. "Let her try. That's when she'll break."
Hidden Tunnel Route — 12:41 p.m.
Cain insisted on scouting ahead. Adrian objected. Isabella watched them argue, then simply said:
"No. I'll go."
Adrian stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "Alone?"
"She's after me, not you," she said. "If I go in first, they'll be waiting. But they'll be watching me, not Cain."
"You're using yourself as bait."
"I am the bait."
Cain handed her a comm bead. "Fifteen minutes. Then we come in."
Isabella smiled. "If I'm not back in fifteen, I'm already gone."
She vanished into the dark.
Council Detention Wing — 1:19 p.m.
Cain lay on the table, restrained, needles in both arms, a high-frequency suppressor pulsing at the base of his neck.
Luciana stood over him. "You always were the more loyal one."
Cain smiled through the pain. "And yet you never chose me."
She looked down at him, something unreadable in her gaze.
"You were never meant to survive this," she whispered. "Neither was she."
Outside the Citadel — 1:23 p.m.
The entrance was hidden in plain sight—an abandoned chapel in the hills outside Palermo. Of course. Religion made the best cover for god-making.
Isabella sliced through the lock with heatwire.
She wasn't silent.
She wasn't subtle.
She wanted them to know she was coming.
Guards rushed the hallway.
She moved like water—and fire. Knives. Gunshots. A blade to the spine. A fist to the jaw. She didn't slow. Blood sprayed the walls like offerings.
Cain had protected her once.
Now she would return the favor.
Inside — Lab Corridor C
Alarms screamed. Doors locked. She was forced to reroute.
She dropped into the lower maintenance crawl, crawling through steam and blood-soaked vents. One hand held the comms line.
Adrian's voice crackled. "Status."
"Alive. Heading north wing."
"Pull out now."
"I'm close."
"Dammit, Isabella, if you get caught—"
"I'm not the one who gets caught. Cain is."
Static.
Then Cain's voice came through—barely a whisper.
"Don't… come."
She froze.
"Too many… guards… they knew…"
Adrian's voice cut in. "It's a trap."
She already knew that.
And she was already running.
2:00 p.m. — Inside the Core Detention Room
She blew open the door with a plasma charge.
Inside: Cain, slumped and bleeding.
And Luciana. Calm. Smiling. Waiting.
"I thought you'd come," Luciana said.
Isabella raised her gun.
Luciana didn't flinch.
"You think you're the anomaly," she said softly. "But you never asked the one question that matters."
Isabella stepped forward. "What?"
Luciana reached into her coat and dropped something on the floor.
A vial.
It shimmered with something that looked like blood—but darker. Thicker. Wrong.
"This is what made you."
Isabella's eyes narrowed. "And what is it?"
Luciana stepped back.
"Your origin," she whispered.
Then she turned—and pressed a single button on the wall.
Cain screamed.
And Isabella watched as his skin began to crack.
Final Scene — 2:05 p.m.
Adrian arrived seconds too late.
Smoke filled the chamber.
Luciana was gone.
Cain lay trembling, blood on the floor—but still breathing.
And Isabella stood over him, shaking, vial in hand.
Her voice broke as she whispered:
"She just told me… my blood didn't come from her."
Adrian moved closer.
"Then who?"
She turned to him, eyes glassy.
And whispered:
"She said it came from me."