For a moment—
No one moved.
Not Isabella Vicks.
Not Damien Hayes.
Not even Astra.
But everything had changed.
The illusion was gone.
The layers stripped away.
And now—
They were standing inside the heart of it all.
The core system pulsed softly before them, an intricate network of light and data flowing through transparent panels and suspended interfaces. It wasn’t just technology.
It was control.
Isabella’s breath came slow and deliberate as she took it in.
“This is it…” she whispered.
Not a guess.
Not a theory.
The truth.
Every operation.
Every command.
Every silent move Astra had made—
All of it passed through here.
Astra’s Calm
Astra stood a few steps away, completely unshaken.
No urgency.
No panic.
Only that same unsettling composure.
“You’ve seen it now,” As
