The elevator doors stood open.
A soft chime echoed through the tunnel.
03:42... 03:41...
Walker turned toward the group.
"Everyone inside!"
Luca helped Father Michael into the elevator first.
Gabriel followed, but stopped when he realized Victoria wasn't behind him.
She was still standing beside Volkov.
The silver pocket watch rested in her hand.
Volkov continued reconnecting damaged cables inside the electrical cabinet.
Sparks illuminated his face.
"You should go."
Victoria remained where she was.
"You could come with us."
He gave a quiet laugh.
"Even if I escaped..."
"...I'd spend the rest of my life running."
Emily stepped beside Victoria.
"Or you could face justice."
Volkov looked at her.
"For everything I've done?"
Emily nodded.
"Yes."
He was silent for a long moment.
Then he smiled sadly.
"I don't think I deserve that chance."
The tunnel shook violently.
A section of the ceiling collapsed only a few meters away.
Walker checked his watch.
"Three minutes!"
Gabriel walked toward Volkov.
"You told me strength meant never looking back."
Volkov looked at the young man he had raised.
"I was wrong."
Gabriel's eyes glistened.
"You took my childhood."
"You lied to me."
"But..."
He hesitated.
"...you also taught me how to survive."
Volkov slowly lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
It was the first genuine apology anyone had ever heard from him.
Another explosion echoed through Eclipse.
The lights flickered again.
Walker shouted,
"We have to leave!"
Victoria stepped closer to Volkov.
"My father believed people could choose who they became."
Volkov looked at her.
"He believed that until the day he died."
"No," Victoria answered.
"He believed it because of the way he lived."
She held out her hand.
"Come with us."
For several seconds, the world seemed to stop.
Volkov stared at her outstretched hand.
The daughter of the man he had betrayed...
...was offering him a chance to surrender.
Slowly...
He reached toward her.
Then an alarm blared through the tunnel.
A support beam crashed between them, forcing everyone apart.
The floor split open.
Emily grabbed Victoria just before the collapsing concrete separated them from Volkov.
Smoke filled the tunnel.
"Victoria!" Emily shouted.
"I'm okay!"
Through the dust, they could barely see Volkov on the other side.
He looked at them one last time.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Take care of each other."
Then he turned and disappeared deeper into the collapsing tunnels.
"Volkov!" Gabriel yelled.
There was no answer.
Only the roar of collapsing concrete.
Walker pulled everyone into the elevator.
"Now!"
The doors closed just as another explosion shook the shaft.
The elevator shot upward.
The lights inside flickered wildly.
No one spoke.
Each person wondered the same thing.
Had Volkov escaped...
...or had he chosen to disappear with Eclipse?
With a deafening crash, the elevator reached the surface.
The doors burst open.
Fresh air flooded in.
Moments later, the ground beneath the abandoned warehouse began to collapse.
The entire Eclipse complex imploded.
Concrete, steel and decades of secrets disappeared beneath a cloud of dust.
Emily wrapped an arm around Victoria.
Together, they watched the earth settle.
Gabriel stood silently beside Father Michael.
Walker removed his FBI cap.
No one celebrated.
Too much had been lost.
Victoria opened the silver pocket watch.
Inside, behind the photographs, she discovered a folded piece of paper she hadn't noticed before.
She carefully unfolded it.
Only one sentence was written inside.
"The truth is buried where the ocean meets the sky."
Emily looked at her.
"What does it mean?"
Victoria slowly folded the note and slipped it back into the watch.
"I don't know."
"But I think..."
"...our story isn't over yet."
Far away, beyond the New York harbor, a lone fishing boat crossed the morning mist.
A hooded man stood at its bow, watching the city disappear behind him.
His face remained hidden.
But on his left hand...
A familiar scar caught the first light of dawn.