Chapter 126

Chapter 126:

“Tell me about the nightmare,” Alexander said.

Camille stared into her mug. “I’m drowning. Rose is pulling me down. But now Herod is with her.” She looked up. “It’s different from before. There’s this sense of… running out of time.”

Alexander reached across the table, taking her hand. The contact anchored her, driving back the nightmare’s ghostly tendrils.

“There’s more you should know,” he said. “The shadow engineering team found another layer of sabotage in the Grid. More sophisticated than the first. And installed by someone with higher security clearance than Walsh.”

“Victoria suspects Martin Greene. Her head of special projects.”

The name hit Camille like a physical blow. Martin Greene, the silver-haired executive who had been at Victoria’s side for years. Who had helped train Camille when she first arrived. Who knew every detail of Kane Industries’ operations.

“That’s not possible,” she whispered. “He’s been with her since…”

“Since Sophia died,” Alexander finished. “Fifteen years of apparent loyalty. Which makes the betrayal all the more devastating.”

Camille pushed her mug away, no longer interested in its comfort. “If Greene is working with Herod, we have a serious security breach. He knows everything—security protocols, the Grid designs, even details about…” She paused, a new thought freezing her blood. “Even details about me. About who I was before.”

Alexander’s expression darkened. “Victoria has him under surveillance. If he’s communicating with Herod or Rose, we’ll know.”

“That might be too late.” Camille stood, suddenly unable to sit still. “We need to move more aggressively. Find Herod directly.”

“Victoria wants to wait. Use Greene to lead us to him.”

“While we wait, they’re planning something we haven’t anticipated.” Camille paced the kitchen, her nightmare’s urgency transferring to her waking thoughts. “The Grid sabotage. The stock purchases. Greene’s betrayal. It’s all connected, but we’re missing the pattern.”

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She stopped abruptly at the window, staring out into the darkness. The garden lights cast long shadows across the lawn, creating shapes that seemed to shift and move with a life of their own.

“What if there’s another layer we haven’t uncovered yet?” she asked softly. “What if everything we’ve discovered so far is just the surface?”

Alexander joined her at the window. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about Rose,” Camille said. “She’s always been careful. Methodical. Her manipulation of my family took years of patient planning. And Herod…” She shook her head. “Victoria says he’s been building his revenge for a decade. People like that don’t put all their hopes on one plan.”

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