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Chapter 38 – When the World Answers Back
Last Updated:
2025-12-19 22:30:59
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Beneath the Diamond Veil Chapter 39 – The Cost of Being Seen
The morning after the interview felt heavier than the one before it.Not louder—quieter. The kind of quiet that presses against your ears until you notice your own breathing, your own pulse. Elara woke before the alarms, before the staff shift change, before anyone could tell her what the world was saying about her now.She lay still, staring at the ceiling, letting the feeling settle.Being seen had weight.Her phone sat untouched on the table across the room. She didn’t need to look. She could already feel the pull of it—curiosity mixed with dread, the way it always was after you said something honest out loud.A soft knock came.Damien.He didn’t enter right away. He never did anymore. He waited, like he was afraid permission could be taken back.“Come in,” she said.He stepped inside carrying two cups of coffee, moving quietly. “I figured you’d be awake.”“I didn’t sleep much.”“Me neither.” He handed her a cup. “You okay?”She considered the question honestly. “I don’t know yet.”
Beneath the Diamond Veil Chapter 38 – When the World Answers Back
The first knock came at dawn.Not a literal knock on the door—security made sure of that—but a digital one. Elara’s phone buzzed on the nightstand, sharp and insistent, pulling her from shallow sleep. She stared at the ceiling for a moment before reaching for it, already knowing what she’d see.Messages. Missed calls. Alerts stacked on alerts.The world hadn’t just noticed her.It had decided to speak.She sat up slowly, the sheets pooling around her waist. Her body felt steady—thankfully—but her chest was tight, like she’d been holding her breath all night without realizing it.One headline caught her eye immediately.EXCLUSIVE: Anonymous Sources Claim Elara Is ‘Unstable’Her jaw clenched.She didn’t open it.Instead, she set the phone down and pressed her palms into her eyes until stars bloomed behind her lids. “Okay,” she murmured to herself. “Okay. One thing at a time.”A soft knock sounded at the door—real this time.“Come in,” she called.Phoenix stepped inside, already dressed,
Beneath the Diamond Veil Chapter 37 – The Cost of Being Seen
Visibility changed everything.Elara felt it the moment she stepped outside the facility gates for the first time since the inquiry. The air itself seemed heavier, charged with awareness. People weren’t staring openly—not yet—but their attention brushed against her like fingertips. Curious. Wary. Hungry.She kept her shoulders relaxed and her breathing steady.I am not a spectacle, she reminded herself. I am a person.Damien walked beside her, close but not hovering. He had learned that hovering made her tense, even when she didn’t want it to. His presence was quieter now—grounded. A choice, not a shield.“You okay?” he asked softly.“Yes,” she said. And after a second, added, “I think.”He smiled a little. “That’s progress.”They were heading toward a small café two streets down. Neutral ground. Public, but not loud. Phoenix had insisted someone keep eyes on them from a distance. Alexander had insisted on security.Elara had insisted on none of them being visible.Compromise meant Ph
Beneath the Diamond Veil Chapter 36 – What the World Asks Back
Elara learned quickly that freedom came with noise.Not the loud kind—no alarms, no shouting—but the constant, low hum of expectation. Of eyes following her when she walked through the facility. Of conversations stopping when she entered a room. Of people pretending not to be afraid and failing at it in small, human ways.She felt it even when she smiled.Especially then.The morning after she invited Damien to stay, she woke before him. Sunlight crept through the narrow window, warming the edge of the bed. Damien slept on his back, one arm thrown across the pillow where her head had been hours earlier. His face was relaxed in sleep in a way she rarely saw when he was awake.She watched him for a long moment.Nothing stirred inside her. No surge. No pull. Just a quiet awareness of being alive next to someone else.This is grounding, she thought.She slipped out of bed carefully and dressed, pausing when she caught her reflection in the mirror. She looked the same—same dark hair, same
Beneath the Diamond Veil CHAPTER 29 – Terms of Protection
Alexander did not knock.The door opened with a smooth, deliberate motion, like he had already decided it would. Damien turned first, instinct sharp, hand lifting toward his weapon. Alexander raised one finger, calm, dismissive.“Not you,” he said. “I need a word with her. Alone.”My spine stiffened.“No,” Damien said flatly.Alexander’s gaze slid to him, cool and unreadable. “This is not a request.”I swung my legs off the bed despite the ache that protested immediately. “It is if you want me to listen.”Silence followed. Thick. Tense.Finally, Alexander inclined his head slightly. “Five minutes. Outside.”Damien hesitated, eyes locked on mine. “I’ll be right there.”“I know,” I said.Alexander turned and walked away without checking if I followed. That alone told me everything about how certain he was.The corridor outside was dim, washed in low amber light. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant and stone, an unsettling mix of new and ancient. He stopped beside a blank wall, far e
Beneath the Diamond Veil Chapter 35 — The Silence Before the Storm
For a moment, no one moved.The last words from the encrypted transmission still hung in the air like static: “They are already inside the compound.”Aisha froze mid-step, her hand hovering above the console. Rayyan stared at the message as if blinking might change it. And Zara—usually the quickest to react—felt her pulse punch through her chest before her brain caught up.Inside the compound.Inside their compound.Inside right now.“How—how long ago was this message sent?” Aisha finally managed, her voice thin and tight.Rayyan checked the timestamp. “Four minutes. Maybe five.” He swallowed hard. “They could already be at the inner gate.”Zara pushed herself forward, shoulders squared. “Then we don’t waste another second. Lock down sections C and D. Funnel all doors toward the safe corridor. We keep them out or slow them down—anything to buy time.”Aisha snapped into action, her fingers flying over the holographic interface. “Initiating lockdown. But… Zara, someone already bypassed
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