ARIA

The flash drive felt like a hot coal in my pocket, burning through the fabric of my dress. I stood in that rotting office, the stench of decay thick in my throat, staring at Ross with every ounce of loathing I possessed.

I couldn't do it. I looked at the silver drive and then at the man who had ruined my life, and I realized that if I gave him Project Apex, I wasn't just destroying Kane. I was handing Ross the keys to an empire he’d use to crush everyone else.

"No," I said, my voice ...