The image stayed on the screen longer than expected.
Not because Elize lingered.
But because Luca didn’t end the moment.
He remained.
Watching her instead of the data.
That was the first anomaly.
He was no longer prioritizing system output.
He was prioritizing her response architecture.
Elize stood still for a moment longer.
Then exhaled once.
Controlled.
“You found it,” Luca said again.
“Yes,” she replied.
Silence settled.
Heavy—but structured.
The kind that meant measurement, not absence.
“You didn’t know I had access to that,” he added.
“I assumed you had access to everything,” Elize said.
A faint pause.
Then Luca stepped closer.
Not invasive.
Corrective proximity.
“That’s you,” he said.
Elize turned fully toward him now.
“Yes.”
Another silence.
Different this
