EPISODE 11: THE BREAKING ## CHAPTER 1: THE DEADLINE Galleria Plaza was set to open December 21st, 2021. The winter solstice. "That's not coincidence," Brandon said. "The longest night of the year. When the boundary between worlds is thinnest. Elena planned this from the beginning." They had one month. One month to stop a development that had already received every permit, passed every inspection, generated millions in pre-opening buzz. One month to prevent something that had been decades in the making. "How do we stop a building from opening?" Marcus asked. He'd flown in from Seattle the moment he heard about Elena's capture—or rather, her escape. She'd been released within hours, expensive lawyers citing "a medical emergency" and "temporary security confusion." "We can't stop the building," Tamara said. "We stop what's underneath it." --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE DETERIORATION The seal was failing. Derek and other Tamara had held for thirty years, but the pressure was building. The construction above had weakened the barriers. The artifact's removal had destabilized something fundamental. And now, the dreams were getting worse. "I saw them," Tamara reported. "Both of them. Derek is... tired. So tired. And the other Tamara—she's the only reason he's still holding on. But it won't last." "How long?" "Days. Maybe a week at most." "That's not enough time." "I...