The smile disappeared from Evelyn's face.
The cool night air suddenly felt much colder.
She looked at Damien, searching his expression for reassurance, but found none. His eyes had become sharp and calculating, the look of a man already planning three moves ahead.
He ended the call without another word.
"What happened?" Evelyn asked.
Damien slipped his phone into his pocket.
"The archive was breached."
"I heard that part."
"They didn't steal company research."
"They didn't take financial records."
"They only took one file."
Evelyn's heartbeat became uneven.
"My identity."
Damien nodded once.
"Someone specifically wanted to know who founded NovaGene."
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
The city continued around them, unaware that something invisible had just shifted
