Page 111 of Forged

Gabriel nods. “I should head out too. I’ve got a call later this morning.”

“You’re welcome to stay here if you want,” I say. “You can use the office.”

He considers the offer for a moment before shaking his head. “I appreciate it, but I should get back.”

Neomi leans forward on the counter. “So, when do we see you again?”

Gabriel looks toward me. “Monday night?”

“That works.” The answer comes easily.

I finish the last of my coffee before setting the mug in the sink.

“Finish your breakfast,” I tell them, pushing away from the counter. “I’m going to get ready. Make sure you say goodbye before you leave.”

Gabriel watches me for a moment, something thoughtful moving behind his eyes. “I will.”

Neomi winks and blows me a kiss. I turn and head toward the bedroom to get dressed.

The atmosphere changesthe moment I walk into the war room at the estate.

Enzo stands near the large display screen with Rowan and Dante, their attention focused on a series of digital schematics rotating across the monitor. The air in the room carries that quiet tension that always means someone has found something.

Rowan glances up first. “Morning.”

“Morning,” I reply, stepping closer to the table. “What’s going on?”

Rowan taps a key on the tablet in his hand and the screen shifts to a series of system logs.

“We had a security alert.”

Enzo folds his arms across his chest. “Rowan noticed an unusual access request in the internal archive system.”

“What kind of request?” I ask.

Rowan zooms in on the log entries.

“The archive containing the estate’s structural documentation was opened through the internal database,” he explains. “The request came through one of the secured workstations inside the estate network, but no one has used that computer in over a month.”

“Was anything downloaded?” I ask.

“No.”

Enzo’s brow pinches. “Copied?”

“No.” Rowan shifts the screen again, highlighting several lines of code in the log. “The system shows a user opening the blueprint files and navigating through several sections of the estate layout,” he says. “But there was no export event, no duplication trigger, and no external transfer. Whoever accessed the files only viewed them.”

Dante leans against the wall with his arms crossed.

Rowan continues, “It triggered an alert because the archive is normally dormant. The system flagged the activity automatically.”

Enzo gestures toward the display. “What about the restricted wing?”

Rowan shakes his head. “That section was never uploaded to the logs.”

He enlarges another section of the blueprint on the screen.

“The system only contains the structural layout for the common and residential areas of the estate. The internal database doesn’t include the architectural or infrastructure documentation for the IT wing.”