10:23 a.m. – Vale Industries East Wing
Ava moved through the building with poise, a clipboard in hand, heels tapping in rhythm with the quiet hum of industry around her.
The east wing was a restricted zone—home to Research & Development, and one floor above the private security office. She had no real reason to be there. Which made it the perfect place to investigate.
A janitor passed by, pushing a cart. She smiled, flashed her badge, and walked straight into a supply closet.
Once inside, she closed the door, exhaled—and pulled out a compact device that looked like a powder case. With one click, it activated a scanner: detecting nearby surveillance feeds.
Seven red dots appeared on the screen.
All active. All recording.
Except one.
Camera 6 – Offline.
Ava smiled.
That was the blind spot she needed.
---
Meanwhile: Damien's Office
Damien leaned back in his chair, watching a screen. Security footage of Ava flickered to life—every hallway she passed, every pause, every look over her shoulder.
Vincent stood behind him. Arms crossed. Impatient.
"She's poking around again," he muttered.
Damien didn't respond.
Vincent added, "Either you confront her or I do."
Damien turned, coolly. "She hasn't broken any rules."
"Yet."
Damien smirked. "That's the fun part."
---
11:02 a.m. – Data Server Room (Blind Spot)
Ava stepped into the quiet chamber. Chilled air kissed her bare arms. Racks of servers blinked around her like mechanical sentinels.
This room wasn't on the floor plans. Elena had mentioned it once—in a coded message. She had 90 seconds before the next patrol passed.
She moved quickly to a panel at the back and inserted a small chip. It began downloading encrypted metadata: emails, transactions, confidential memos.
70%… 82%… 99%—
"Ms. Sinclair."
Her blood froze.
She turned slowly—face neutral.
Damien.
Alone.
No Vincent. No guards. Just him.
His expression unreadable. "Taking a tour?"
"I was lost," she lied smoothly. "Looking for the restroom."
"In the server room?"
"I have an adventurous bladder."
Silence.
His eyes drifted to the device behind her.
Then to her.
"I admire boldness," he said. "But boldness has limits."
Ava swallowed. "Are you accusing me of something?"
He stepped closer, each footfall echoing in the chill.
"No. Not yet."
He stopped inches from her. "But next time… knock."
Then he turned and walked away, leaving her pulse racing and her download complete.
---
Later That Night – Ava's Apartment
She plugged the chip into her private laptop. The files loaded. Dozens of folders opened before her—each labeled with strange codenames: Jade Spiral, Phantom Ledger, Echo Bloodline.
Before she could dig further, a message from Elena popped up.
> "Did he catch you?"
> "He knows. But didn't stop me."
> "Then he's toying with you."
Ava typed:
> "And I'm starting to enjoy it."
But behind her smirk, she felt it—genuine unease. Because for the first time, she wasn't sure who was watching whom.
And worse… she was starting to care.
---