The world did not explode the moment Aria pressed send.
There was no immediate chaos, no sirens, no breaking glass or crashing systems.
The city outside continued as it always had — cars moving in steady streams, people crossing streets with coffee in hand, unaware that something had just shifted beneath their feet.
But Aria felt it. Not in the noise — but in the silence that followed. She stared at the screen long after the file had been transmitted, her finger still resting lightly on the trackpad as if she could somehow take it back. Undo it. Rewind time by a few seconds and return to the moment where the decision had not yet been made.
But that moment was gone. “What happens now?” she asked quietly.
Lucien didn’t answer immediately. He stood beside her, his gaze fixed on the lapt
