The conference room remained silent after the message appeared on the screen. Seraphina read the sentence twice before looking away, not because she believed it, but because part of her hated that it made her think.
Lucien stood near the table with one hand resting against the edge, his expression unreadable.
Elias broke the silence first. "The authorisation is fake."
Lucien nodded once. "Yes."
"But it used internal Ashford encryption keys," Elias continued. "Someone had high-level access."
Seraphina leaned back slowly in her chair. "Or someone wanted us to believe that."
Lucien looked toward her immediately. "You think this is another staged direction?"
"I think everything about this case has been staged." Her exhaustion sharpened the honesty in her voice.
For days now, every threat seemed designed not only to destabilise her but also to shape how she reacted, who she trusted, and where attention moved. Nothing felt spontaneous anymore.
