The Test of Fire
Marriage had not dimmed Nova’s fire. If anything, it intensified it. In the weeks following the wedding, she and Liam settled into a rhythm that felt like breathing. Days spent co-leading, nights spent co-dreaming. It was more than partnership; it was alignment.
But peace, Nova knew, never came without cost.
And this time, the storm wasn’t personal.
It was legacy-deep.
It began with a call from Nairobi.
The head of the Cassie & Damon Seed Center there, Lailah Mureithi, sounded breathless.
“There’s been a breach,” she said. “One of our internal tech systems was hacked.”
Nova sat upright in her chair. “What kind of breach?”
Lailah hesitated. “The scholarship vault. And the donor list connected to it.”
Nova’s stomach dropped.
Not because of the data.
But because o
