The helicopter touched down on the roof of New York Presbyterian Hospital just after midnight.
Rain poured over the city as paramedics rushed Emily through the emergency entrance.
Victoria instinctively followed.
A nurse stopped her.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. You can't come any farther."
Victoria froze.
For the first time in years, there was nothing she could do.
No amount of money.
No amount of power.
No threat.
Nothing could help Emily now.
Hours passed.
Walker sat with a cup of cold coffee while Luca silently paced the corridor.
Neither of them spoke much.
Victoria remained standing by the window, watching the rain.
She hadn't moved in over an hour.
Walker finally broke the silence.
"You care about her."
Victoria didn't deny it.
"I never meant to."
Walker nodded slowly.
"I don't think anyone plans to fall in love."
Victoria looked at him sharply.
"I didn't say that."
"No."
Walker smiled faintly.
"You didn't have to."
A doctor stepped into the waiting room.
"Miss Carter is awake."
Victoria immediately stood.
"Can I see her?"
The doctor hesitated.
"For a few minutes."
Victoria entered the room quietly.
Emily was pale, her shoulder heavily bandaged.
Machines beeped steadily beside her bed.
She smiled the moment she saw Victoria.
"You look terrible."
Victoria laughed softly.
"I was about to say the same thing."
Emily reached out with her uninjured hand.
Victoria took it without hesitation.
Neither of them wanted to let go.
"I scared you."
Emily's voice was barely above a whisper.
Victoria swallowed hard.
"I've buried too many people."
"I couldn't lose you too."
Emily looked into her eyes.
"You won't."
Silence settled between them.
Comfortable.
Warm.
For the first time since they had met, neither of them was pretending to be someone else.
Later that morning, Gabriel arrived at the hospital under FBI protection.
He stopped outside Emily's room.
Victoria stepped into the hallway.
For several seconds, brother and sister simply looked at one another.
Finally, Gabriel spoke.
"I'm sorry."
Victoria frowned.
"For what?"
"For believing the lies."
Victoria stepped closer.
"You were a child."
"So were you."
He lowered his head.
"I spent twenty years hating you."
Victoria gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"And we'll spend the rest of our lives making up for it."
Gabriel smiled.
It was small.
But genuine.
It was the first real smile Victoria had seen from him since they were children.
Meanwhile...
Inside FBI Headquarters, Walker entered the secure evidence room.
The Atlas files had been moved overnight.
He unlocked the cabinet.
It was empty.
His heart sank.
"No..."
A voice behind him spoke calmly.
"Looking for something?"
Walker turned.
Special Agent Richard Hayes stood in the doorway.
One of the Bureau's most respected senior investigators.
Hayes smiled.
"Seems we've got a thief."
Walker studied him carefully.
Something about his timing felt... wrong.
Very wrong.
Across the city, Adrian Volkov sat alone in a candlelit room.
A phone vibrated on the table.
He answered.
"Yes?"
A familiar voice replied.
"The Atlas files are gone."
Volkov smiled.
"Excellent."
"And Walker suspects nothing."
"Not yet."
Volkov ended the call.
He looked at a photograph of Emily and Victoria taken outside the safe house weeks earlier.
"They've become stronger together."
He folded the picture carefully.
"So it's time to separate them."
That evening, Emily insisted on leaving her hospital bed for a few minutes.
Ignoring the protests of the nurses, she walked slowly onto the rooftop rehabilitation garden.
Victoria was already there, watching the sunset over Manhattan.
"You should be resting," Victoria said without turning around.
Emily smiled.
"So should you."
Victoria looked at her.
The fading sunlight reflected in Emily's eyes.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Emily quietly admitted,
"When you ran through the gunfire..."
"I realized something."
Victoria's heartbeat quickened.
Emily stepped closer.
"I stopped thinking like an FBI agent."
"And started thinking about you."
Victoria slowly closed the distance between them.
"I've been thinking about you for longer than I wanted to admit."
They stood only inches apart.
Emily could feel Victoria's heartbeat.
Victoria could hear Emily's breathing.
Neither moved.
Not yet.
Then the hospital doors burst open.
Walker hurried onto the rooftop.
"Emily!"
She turned.
"What happened?"
Walker looked at both women.
"The Atlas files have been stolen."
Silence fell.
The war had entered its most dangerous phase.
Someone inside the FBI had made their move.
And for the first time...
The enemy was no longer hiding in the shadows.