Chapter 2 The Crash

Pain. That was the first thing Valeria felt when she woke up.

Sharp, burning pain that shot through every nerve in her body. Her head felt like it had been split open with an axe. Her ribs screamed when she tried to breathe. Something warm and sticky ran down her face.

Blood.

The car was upside down. The world was wrong, twisted. Steam rose from the engine in thick white clouds. The smell of gasoline filled her nose, sharp and dangerous. The acrid scent made her stomach turn.

She blinked hard, trying to clear her vision. Everything was blurry. The rain still hammered on the roof, now below her head. Glass crunched under her when she tried to move.

"Elara?" Her voice came out as a croak, barely audible over the hissing steam.

Panic shot through her, stronger than any physical pain. She turned her head, ignoring the sharp agony shooting through her neck. Her spine felt wrong, damaged. The backseat was crushed inward, the metal bent and twisted into impossible shapes.

But the car seat was still intact. Built to withstand crashes just like this one.

Elara was unconscious, her small head tilted to one side. Blood ran from a cut on her forehead, bright red against her pale skin. But her chest rose and fell. She was breathing.

Thank God. Thank God.

Valeria tried to move, tried to reach for her daughter. She couldn't. Her legs were trapped under twisted metal and plastic. The dashboard had collapsed, pinning her in place. When she tried to pull free, white hot pain shot up her spine.

Blood ran down her face in steady streams. She could taste it in her mouth, metallic and warm. Her jaw felt wrong, loose. When she touched her cheek, she felt something sharp. Broken bone.

Her beautiful face. The one that had made men fall at her feet, that had opened doors and bought her power. It was destroyed now. She could feel it even without a mirror. The bones were wrong, the skin torn.

Maybe that was good. Maybe that would save them both.

Footsteps approached through the rain. Heavy boots on wet asphalt. Someone was coming.

Valeria's hand moved instinctively to her jacket pocket. The System was still there, somehow undamaged. The device that had caused all of this. The weapon that had made her the most hunted woman in the world.

A man in dark clothes appeared at the broken window. He crouched down, his face level with hers. He was young, maybe thirty. Clean shaven. Professional looking.

Was he one of them? Had they found her already?

"Help," Valeria gasped, the word scraping her throat raw. "Please, get my daughter out."

The man studied her for a long moment. His eyes moved over her face, taking in the damage. She watched him carefully, looking for recognition. Looking for the moment when he would realize who she was.

It didn't come.

He didn't recognize her. The crash had changed her face completely. The bones were broken, the features rearranged. She looked like a different person now.

Good. Maybe that would keep them both alive.

"I'll get her," he said. His voice was calm, professional. Like he'd done this before. "Just stay still. Help is coming."

Help. That word used to mean something different to her. Used to mean hired guns and corrupt cops. Now it just meant someone who might save her daughter.

He moved around to the other side of the car. She heard him working, pulling at the twisted metal. Glass breaking. The sound of the car seat being freed from its restraints.

Then he was lifting Elara out of the wreckage, cradling her carefully in his arms. The little girl looked so small against his chest. So fragile.

Elara's eyes fluttered open for a second. Brown eyes, just like Marcus's. The eyes that could unlock the weapon. The eyes that made her the most valuable person on earth.

"Mama?" she whispered, her voice weak and confused.

"She's safe," the man told her, his voice gentle. "You're safe now."

Valeria felt tears mixing with the blood on her cheeks. Her daughter was alive. That was all that mattered now. Everything else could burn.

"Take her," she said, each word an effort. "Please. Don't let them find her."

The man looked confused. His brow furrowed as he held Elara closer. "Who's looking for her? What are you talking about?"

"Everyone." Valeria's voice was getting weaker. She could feel herself fading. Blood loss, probably. Internal injuries. She was dying, and she knew it. "They want what I made. But they don't know... they don't know she's the key."

The man's confusion deepened. He started to ask another question, but then his eyes widened. He was looking past her, at something behind the car.

A spark flashed under the hood. Then another. The smell of gasoline was getting stronger.

The man's eyes widened with understanding. "We need to get you out of there right now."

"No time," Valeria said. She could see it in his face. The car was going to blow. The gasoline had found something hot, something that would ignite it. "Just protect her. Promise me."

"I promise," he said without hesitation. "I'll keep her safe."

Valeria smiled, even though it hurt. Even though she could feel her broken jaw grinding. Her daughter would live. That was enough.

The car exploded.

Flames erupted around her, bright orange and yellow against the dark sky. The heat hit her all at once, burning away everything else. The pain, the fear, the three years of running.

Everything went white.

Then black.