The move came in the morning. No warning. No spectacle. Just the same precise execution Victor used for everything. Aria noticed it before Lucien did. She was not required to read it again, but she was sitting at a table with it open in front of her a third time, as it had become a way of thinking for her. Her phone lit up. Unknown number. She didn’t answer. She watched it ring till it ceased. After another second, a message came up. She opened it. Her eyes swept across the screen once. Then stopped.
When Lucien walked in, he felt it immediately. Something had shifted. Not fear. Don't panic. Focus. Sharper, more deliberate than before. Aria looked up and, without a word, turned her phone toward him. He walked nearer and read. For the first time since this began — he lost his cool. Not vi
