Two days had altered the rhythm of the entire mansion. No one needed to announce it aloud, but everyone felt the change as soon as the information about the next contact arrived. Until then, they had been chasing trails, deposits, intermediaries, and disposable structures. Now, for the first time, there was a schedule, a concrete window, a chance to reach someone who truly mattered.
Elizabeth spent most of the afternoon going over the documents taken from the mill. Logbooks, shipping codes, incomplete lists, payment marks, and repeated symbols. She occupied the main table in the room as if it were a private battlefield, spreading pages in organized rows. Cherry tried to approach twice and was pushed away with a cold look on both occasions.
"If you touch these papers without permission, I'll have your fingers cut off," Elizabeth said without even raising her head.
Cherry rolled her eyes and threw herself onto the sofa. "You turn reading into a threat. Impressive."
