The following morning arrived with a suspicious kind of stillness.The Parisian sky resembled an unfinished oil painting—pale blue, cloudless, as if holding its breath. From behind the sheer linen curtains, sunlight crept gently into the room, casting delicate patterns on the walls and the rumpled sheets I had yet to pull away from my sleep.I woke up alone.Hugo was no longer in bed. The sheets on his side were still warm when I touched them. That meant he had only just left.On the nightstand, a cup of coffee was still steaming. Beneath it, a small note in handwriting I knew by heart:If I were a secret agent, you would've sniffed me out from two kilometers away.But since I'm your husband, I quietly left you coffee.Call me Bee.I almost laughed. The only man who could tuck a joke into a love note. But that last line Call me Bee was a request I was dying to resist.How could I not? Just hearing Hugo call me Honey already made me squirm. And now... that muscle-bound baby wanted me t
"Do you believe it’s a leak?" I asked Hugo quietly.He shook his head. "A leak can be contained. This… feels more like something’s been injected into the system. Lucas isn’t a hacker. He was a former foundational architect. And someone who knows exactly how I work has given him a way back in."I said nothing. Not out of fear, but because I could see it—behind Hugo’s calm exterior was a flicker of concern he would never show to anyone but me."Can you handle it?" I whispered.He looked at me—deeply, honestly."Yes. But it would be easier if you stayed close to me."I smiled. "I’m not going anywhere."Hugo leaned in, resting his forehead gently against mine. His breath brushed across my face—soft, warm."I know you carry a lot. Too much. But I hope you know… I’ve never let you carry it alone."I closed my eyes for a moment. That sentence, simple as it was, felt like the strongest kind of armor."And I hope," he whispered again, "you know that I love you in my own way. In a way you might
Hugo glanced sideways at me, as if I were a book he was rereading.I nearly laughed. "So this is a test?""Not a test. Survival training."I let out a breath. The world I lived in now was nothing like the one promised by ordinary marriages. But I never married for a quiet life. I married to rule."And if Lucas returns with an agenda?" I asked."Let him believe he's in control, then we take it from him the moment he thinks he’s won."Hugo looked at me with a face nearly devoid of emotion, but his eyes said something else. He knew more than he was revealing. But for now, it was enough."Don’t get burned, Ana," he said softly. "You’re far too valuable to turn into ash."I gave a faint smile. "So are you."Then, like two actors stepping out of character after a scene, we returned to our roles. He sat down, opened his laptop, and joined a video conference. I crossed my legs and opened a newspaper I had no intention of reading. My thoughts wandered far. My curiosity, and my inability to bea
After Hugo left, and the sound of his footsteps faded down the long marble corridor, I stood for a moment at the dining room window. A light mist still danced among the tall trees in the backyard. Dona Graciela had returned to her room, and the mansion fell quiet once again.I sipped the tea that had already gone cold.Lucas Arendt. VX-11.And that bracelet.The name settled like fog, wrapping my thoughts in a quiet caution. I still did not know who else might be involved, but my instincts were strong. Lucas was not acting alone, and his presence was an early signal of something far darker awakening, something far more than just an attempt to sabotage the Saint-Roch project.My Horrison tablet still held the footage from the night before, but I had no intention of playing it again.****Around ten in the morning, I stood before the large wardrobe built into the bedroom wall. Sunlight filtered through sheer curtains, casting a soft glow across the lace and silk hanging neatly inside.“
The following dawn, the world was still damp. The Parisian sky glowed deep blue, with faint traces of orange at the edge of the horizon. The wind was sharp, slipping through the cracks of the windows, carrying the scent of rain that had yet to fully dry from the night before. Inside the room, only the desk lamp was lit, casting a dim reflection of my eyes on the tablet screen.I tapped the unlock icon as soon as the notification arrived, and the system immediately prompted three layers of biometric authentication. My retina, my fingerprint, and a short voice code,"I will not be watched without watching back."The screen flickered to life, revealing footage from a hidden camera. The first blurred images showed the interior of an old data vault. Dusty shelves, cables hanging like tree roots, and a single metal table in the center of the room. Then the image shifted. A man stood before a massive monitor. His silhouette was tall and lean. His movements were slow, almost arrogant.He remo
That night, the rain fell like a secret. Droplets tapped gently against the windowpane, like delicate fingers impatient to come inside. The sky over Paris was overcast, gray like an unspoken truth. Inside the mansion, warmth did not come from the fireplace, but from an intentional silence.I sat cross-legged in the corner of the reading room, wearing a thin nightgown and Hugo’s oversized wool cardigan. The air was thick with the scent of perfume and aged wood. My Horrison tablet glowed faintly in my lap, yet I didn’t look at the screen. I was waiting for one name.From the tiny earpiece nestled in my ear, Holly’s voice came through. Clear. Firm. No small talk.“Miss Ana,” she said softly, like a whisper from the end of a long hallway.“I’m here,” I whispered back.“He’s not a bot,” she continued. “And he’s not a new recruit. I’ve traced his background.”I closed my eyes for a moment. “Tell me.”“I’m almost certain we’re dealing with a former field agent who once operated under one of