–Deanne–
Too bad I couldn't step in directly during the current crisis.
Paris is down.
Now Rome is down.
On the satellite feeds, cities look like chessboards—cold grids of light and shadow—while government movements crawl across my screens in hostile patterns. Red vectors. Yellow warnings. Every blink of data smells like iron and static.
We already activated the contingency plan. New lairs. New routes. New shadows.
Livana was right.
I never doubted her intelligence—but I underestimated how accurate her instincts would be. Just as she predicted, someone from the developers betrayed the Queen. A single fracture in loyalty, and everything cracked.
I exhaled slowly and shook my head.
Across from me, Caine stiffened. He hadn't expected this—not from inside the system.
"I'll send out men," he said, already standing, phone in hand.
I caught his wrist before he could move.
"No," I said evenly. "You can't ruin the Grandmaster's game."
He froze.
