The city didn’t look like a city anymore. It looked like something waking up.
Lights across different districts pulsed in uneven rhythm, some bright, some flickering, some going completely dark for a few seconds before returning. Bella watched from the rooftop edge, uneasy.
“This is not normal infrastructure behavior,” she muttered.
Leo stood beside her. “No,” he said quietly. “It’s synchronization.”
The word made her glance at him. “You say that like it’s familiar.”
“It’s not,” he replied. “But it makes sense.”
That answer irritated her again. Everything about Leo Moretti irritated her in a controlled way. Like he was always one step ahead of her emotional reaction.
The man in the coat stepped forward. “Phase Two has begun.”
Bella turned sharply. “You keep saying phases like we’r
