The video arrived at 3:12 PM.
No caller ID.
No encryption signature.
Just a file.
Sage was in the war room when it came.
S4RKU opened it without expression.
The screen flickered.
A dim warehouse.
Reyna tied to a chair.
Bruised.
Crying.
A masked man stepped into frame.
"Tick tock," he said calmly.
He grabbed Reyna's hair and forced her head up.
"Your queen is learning to rule."
A blade appeared.
Not dramatic.
Not rushed.
Just deliberate.
Sage's fingers dug into the table.
"Stop..." she whispered.
The blade pressed lightly against Reyna's arm.
A thin red line formed.
Reyna screamed.
The masked man leaned toward the camera.
"This is only the beginning."
The video cut.
Silence swallowed the room.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Sage's chest rose and fell sharply.
"She's alive," she said immediately.
"She's still alive."
S4RKU didn't respond.
He was staring at the blank screen.
But his eyes...
They weren't angry.
They were empty.
Which was worse.
He turned slowly to his men.
"Trace it."
"Already trying, sir."
Sage stepped closer to him.
"She's alive," she repeated.
He finally looked at her.
And she saw it.
The switch had flipped.
"You wanted savage," he said quietly.
"You're about to see it."
Two hours later.
Three of the rival's outer warehouses were burning.
Not bombed.
Burning slowly.
Men dragged out screaming.
Information extracted.
Bones broken.
Names given.
S4RKU didn't shout.
Didn't threaten.
He just stood there while one of the rival's lieutenants was forced to his knees.
"Where," S4RKU asked calmly,
"is the warehouse with the blue container doors?"
The man hesitated.
A finger was broken.
Clean snap.
S4RKU didn't blink.
"Where."
The man screamed the address.
S4RKU nodded once.
Then turned away.
"Send the video to their boss."
One of his men frowned. "What video?"
S4RKU's voice dropped.
"The one we're about to make."
Back at the mansion.
Sage waited.
Every second felt like acid in her veins.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She wasn't shaking.
She was changing.
When S4RKU returned hours later, there was blood on his shirt.
Not his.
He walked toward her slowly.
"It's done," he said.
Her breath caught.
"She's safe?"
He nodded once.
"On her way here."
Relief crashed into her so hard her knees nearly gave out.
But then-
Her eyes fell to his hands.
Bruised.
Cut.
Red.
"You tortured them," she said quietly.
He didn't deny it.
"They hurt someone connected to you."
His tone was simple.
Final.
She stepped closer.
"You're becoming worse because of me."
He looked down at her.
"No."
His hand lifted, brushing a streak of blood from his knuckle.
"I'm becoming honest."
Silence.
Heavy.
He leaned closer.
"They thought hurting someone you loved would weaken me."
His hand slid to her waist.
Firm.
Possessive.
"They were wrong."
Her pulse raced.
"What did it do?" she whispered.
His eyes darkened completely.
"It gave me permission."
A chill ran down her spine.
Permission for what?
He bent closer to her ear.
"To end this war permanently."
And somewhere across the city...
The rival leader received a video.
Three of his top men.
On their knees.
Terrified.
A calm voice behind the camera said:
"You touched what was mine."
Gunshots echoed.
The video ended.
Sage stood in the balcony later that night.
Delhi lights glowing beneath her.
She had crossed the line now.
There was no going back to the girl who just studied psychology in a safe campus.
She turned as S4RKU stepped beside her.
"You didn't hesitate," she said softly.
"No."
She looked at him carefully.
"And you won't. Ever again."
It wasn't a question.
He looked back at her.
"Not when it comes to you."
The wind carried the scent of smoke through the city.
War had escalated.
But something else had too.
The darkness between them.
And the terrifying part?
She didn't feel scared anymore.
She felt powerful.