Seraphina Vale did not sleep that night because the video of Marcus Delaney placing the device beneath Lucien's chair replayed in her mind again and again. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his calm expression as he adjusted the small black object beneath the boardroom table.
The message that followed the video continued echoing in her thoughts.
Tomorrow Lucien Ashford dies during the board meeting.
Seraphina stood beside the window in her suite while the first light of morning slowly spread across Aurelia City. The towers downtown appeared gray and silent under the early sky.
Her phone showed 6:17 a.m.
She had spent the last several hours reviewing the footage repeatedly. The video contained no obvious edits, and the timestamp matched the building's internal camera system.
The threat felt real.
