the REVENGE

Chapter 2:

A few minutes earlier,
Sophia,
As Sophia worked in the building across the street, skillfully hacking into the bank’s security systems and bypassing firewalls, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the screens in front of her began to flash erratically, and the systems she was working on started disappearing one by one. At first, she thought it was just a technical glitch or resistance from the security systems, but she quickly realized that something bigger was happening.
The firewalls she had painstakingly breached began to rebuild themselves immediately, as if someone was rebooting the systems faster than she could dismantle them. Beneath the screens, red warning messages appeared, and a low alarm began to sound in her earpiece.
“Impossible…” Sophia murmured to herself as she stared at the screen. The systems weren’t just rebuilding themselves; they were now responding to her aggressively, attempting to trace her location and reverse-hack her tools. All of this was perfectly coordinated, as if someone had been waiting for a specific moment to launch this counterattack.
Tension rapidly rose in her mind, and doubts began to creep into her thoughts. This wasn’t just an advanced security system; it felt like a trap.
Sophia immediately tried to contact Blair and Carlos, knowing that there was a much bigger problem than just a technical malfunction. She quickly opened their communication channel, but all she heard was silence.
“Blair! Carlos! Something’s wrong. The systems are turning against us… it’s a trap!” she said sharply, but there was no response. She tried again, this time with a more urgent tone: “Blair, Carlos, can you hear me? The situation is deteriorating fast!”
Her anxiety grew in her heart as no response came, as if the communications had been cut off too. She looked back at her screens, and all that was in front of her now was emptiness, as if everything she had been working on had been deliberately erased to hide the trap they had fallen into.
She began manipulating her tools to regain control, trying to untangle the digital web they were caught in. She knew they had to get out of the bank before it was too late.
While Sophia was engrossed in trying to regain control of the systems and warn Blair and Carlos, her eyes were focused on the screens, and her fingers moved quickly across the keyboard, attempting to navigate the trap they had fallen into. All her senses were concentrated on the task at hand, unaware of what was happening around her.
At that moment, completely unaware, she suddenly felt a strong blow to the back of her head. The pain was sharp and quick, before turning into a heavy sensation of dizziness. Her hand stopped moving, and her eyes widened in a moment of shock before the world around her began to sway.
She tried to turn to see who had attacked her, but her body wouldn’t respond. She collapsed onto the keyboard, losing consciousness completely before she could issue any further warning. The sound of the equipment and computers continuing to operate was the only thing left filling the room, while Sophia lay motionless on the floor.
At that moment, the situation became more dangerous. The entire team—Blair, Carlos, and Sophia—was now in the heart of a deadly trap, with the door closed behind them in a way they could hardly imagine.

Blair,
While Blair monitored the camera screens with complete focus, calculating every step precisely, something on one of the screens caught her attention. In an obscure corner of the bank, a strange symbol appeared on one of the security devices. It was a mix of intersecting lines and a circular shape that felt eerily familiar to her. Blair stared at the screen for a moment, her heart beginning to race. The symbol was not just unfamiliar; it perfectly resembled the logo of the company her father had worked for before his death.
At first, she couldn’t believe her eyes; she tried to convince herself that it was impossible, that it was just a slight resemblance, but panic began to creep in. Old memories—everything related to her father and that mysterious company—came rushing back to the surface. Why was this symbol appearing here? In this very bank? What connection did it have to the operation?
Without thinking twice, she quickly stood up from her spot, feeling her mind clouded. She left her equipment and headed directly to the room where the symbol had appeared. Tension surged through her veins as she moved swiftly, chasing her instincts and the old memories she had tried to bury for years.
“Blair?” Carlos’s voice came through the earpiece, but Blair didn’t respond. Her mind was overwhelmed with unanswered questions.

Carlos,
He tried again: “Blair? Where are you?” It was typical of Blair to be ready to respond immediately, but this time she was silent.
He felt his heart begin to race. This wasn’t Blair’s usual behavior. He knew her well; she was always precise and professional, never leaving her position no matter what happened. But now, after witnessing her suddenly move toward a room, he was certain that something was wrong.
He attempted to call again: “Blair, respond to me. What’s happening?”
Silence persisted, and tension began to rise. The instinct within Carlos told him that this was not just an ordinary bank heist. Perhaps all of this had been carefully orchestrated, not to rob the bank, but to set them up.
In that moment, his suspicions turned into certainty. This was not just luck or good planning; it was part of something larger, and there were unseen forces controlling the game.
He took a deep breath and decided to act; he had to find Blair first and ensure her safety.
He pushed open a small door beside him and slipped through a back corridor, feeling that time was running out.

Blair,
She arrived in the room and paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as she tried to calm her rapidly racing heart. She cautiously opened the door and entered, her eyes frantically searching for anything that could explain what she had seen.
Blair, who was quickly heading toward the room where the company’s logo had appeared on the screen, was unaware that she was drifting directly into a carefully laid trap. As she entered the room, the lights suddenly came on, and she found herself surrounded by devices and tools that were not part of the bank’s usual systems. There, in the corner, was the device bearing the symbol that had drawn her in, but it was now clearer than ever that it had been placed there deliberately to catch her attention.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind her, and the sound of a heavy lock echoed in the space. Blair rushed to the door, trying to open it in vain. She took a deep breath, trying to keep calm, but she knew in that moment that things had spiraled out of control. The place was a trap, carefully prepared to ensnare her.
On the opposite wall, a large screen began to illuminate, revealing a shadowy, mysterious face. The accompanying voice was calm yet suspicious, laced with subtle mockery.
“Hello, Blair. I didn’t expect you to find your way here so quickly… but it seems curiosity brought you just as I anticipated.”
Blair stared at the screen, realizing that someone had been watching her closely from the very beginning, and that the operation, which had seemed perfect, was merely a carefully crafted scenario designed to lure her to this place.
“Who are you? What does this have to do with everything?” Blair asked, her voice steady despite the fear beginning to take hold.
The figure on the screen ignored her direct question and continued, “You remember this symbol, don’t you? The logo of the company your father worked for. You’ve always been searching for answers, for the reason behind his death and your mother’s disappearance. And now, it’s time to get some answers.”
Blair felt her heart tighten, and sweat began to bead on her forehead. This person knew too much about her past, about the details of her life that had always been mysterious even to her. As the mysterious figure spoke, the pieces of the puzzle began to form in her mind. Her father had been involved in something much larger than she had thought, and perhaps everything that had happened to her since childhood was part of a bigger game of which she had been unaware.
“You are here because you need answers, Blair. And because there are things you’ve been searching for a long time… but first, you must realize that everything you think you know is just a deception.”
Blair was at the heart of the trap, but she wasn’t sure what would come next.
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