You slipped into the burning library through the side door, the thick smoke clawing at your lungs but adrenaline drowning the sickness. Flames hissed and cracked all around — the inferno Maddie started raging like a beast unleashed. Somewhere inside, Kate was fighting Joe, tearing at the last shreds of a nightmare you all hoped was ending.

You gripped Henry’s hand one last time, pressing him gently into Teddy’s arms. “Keep him safe,” you breathed, voice rough but certain. Nadia and Marienne flanked you, their faces grim but resolute. You didn’t need to say it aloud — the chase was on. Joe escaped again, and you’d be damned if he slipped through your fingers this time.

The heat was suffocating, the thick smoke swirling like ghosts in the shadows. You found Kate near the back, fighting a losing battle — Joe’s desperation a brutal storm around her. When she saw you, relief cracked through her fierce exterior for a moment before she threw herself into your arms.

“You came,” she rasped, coughing as the smoke choked her voice.

“I told you I would,” you said, wrapping your arms tight around her, your body a shield against the fire’s wrath. The edges of her coat were singed, and soot painted her cheeks like war paint, but those fierce, unwavering eyes met yours with fire that no blaze could match.

She pulled back just enough to glare at you. “Henry’s safe?”

“With Teddy,” you nodded. “Now it’s us. Time to end this.”

Together, the three of you—Kate, Nadia, Marienne—burst through the thickening smoke and out into the cold night. Joe was gone, fleeing on horseback—a caval cutting through the dark like a ghost. But this time, you weren’t following blindly. You had a plan.

Kate’s hand found yours, gripping tight, grounding you. “We’re close. I can feel it.” Her voice was low, determined. “Joe’s unraveling faster than we thought. He’s scared.”

You glanced at her, heart twisting. This woman—steel and shadows—carried wounds you could see and those buried deep beneath the surface. You weren’t just her partner in this war. You were her secret, the man she trusted with her heart and the fragile hope that one day, this nightmare would end.

“And after?” you asked quietly, riding hard after Joe’s fading silhouette.

She breathed in, eyes reflecting the moonlight. “After... Henry and I are free. Not running, not hiding. We build something new. Something real.” Her grip softened on your hand, thumb tracing your knuckles.

“You and me,” she continued, voice barely above a whisper, “somewhere old and alive. Paris. Florence. Streets that hold history and quiet corners where Henry can just be a kid. Not this constant war zone.”

You smiled despite everything—the exhaustion, the fear. “Romantic.”

Kate’s rare smile bloomed then, a fragile light in the darkness. “You’re already mine,” she said, voice fierce and tender all at once. “I just need him gone.”

The words hung heavy between you. You both knew it wasn’t just Joe you had to destroy—it was the past he dragged with him, the shadows that threatened to swallow everything.

Behind you, Nadia’s soft voice broke the silence. “Ready?”

Marienne nodded, eyes steely.

Kate’s gaze locked with yours one last time before the hunt swallowed you whole again. “Always.”

You felt the weight of the promise between you—blood, fire, love, and war all tangled in the same thread. Whatever came next, whatever hell you faced, you faced it together.

Joe Goldberg had no idea he was already dead.