12: I read about it in a local paper

Daphne's pov

The first trucks rolled in a little after eight.

I watched them through the car window as the convoy turned off the main road and crawled up the gravel drive: two heavy transports, a smaller supply truck, and a black SUV. Soldiers dropped out before the engines had stopped. Some started unloading crates. Others walked the fence line. Workers in reflective vests hauled metal poles toward the eastern field, where two canvas tents were already going up.

Daddy and I had signed the agreement the night before, but it hadn't felt real until now. This didn't look like a construction site. It looked like the start of a war.

"We're here, Miss Alistair," the driver said.

"Thank you."

Daddy had fought to come. His doctor had said rest, I'd said I would call Dr. Bennett myself, and he'd finally grumbled his way back to his pillows. I had felt a little too satisfied about winning, and I knew it.

A man in uniform met me at the door. "Miss Alistair? Captain Reynolds. General Hale asked me to escort you to the briefing."

My stomach tightened at the name. I had known Adrik's people would move in. Knowing it and watching them walk across my father's land were different things.

"Lead the way."

Survey stakes dotted the open ground. Temporary fencing circled the construction zone. Beyond the tents, the southern ridge rolled away, where my father's engineers would break ground on the bunker, out of sight of the soldiers.

Under the larger tent, maps and blueprints covered a folding table. Adrik stood at the far end in a dark uniform, sleeves buttoned, face unreadable, two officers listening as he spoke.

I slowed for half a step. He looked different from the last time I had seen him, or maybe it was only the soldiers snapping to attention around him.

He turned. Our eyes met.

"Miss Alistair."

"General."

"You're here on behalf of your father?"

"He's still recovering. I'll oversee the family's interests during the first stages."

"I see." No smile. No pleasantries. He gestured to the table. "We're about to begin."

I took the seat beside an officer. A few more people gathered, including the construction supervisor and two people from my father's company. Adrik unfolded a site map and laid both hands flat on its edges.

"The first phase covers the northern section. Temporary accommodation, a medical station, equipment storage, and a secured command post. Heavy construction starts once the perimeter is reinforced." His finger moved across the paper. "These access roads are restricted. Civilian contractors register before entering. Nothing leaves this property without clearance."

I studied the map. It was larger than anything my father had imagined, and I still wondered whether it would be enough. In my first life, there had been no planning at all. People had thrown up barricades, fought over supplies, and crowded into buildings never meant to hold them.

This time would be different. It had to be.

Adrik picked up a document. "Before we move on, I want everyone familiar with the threat assessment behind our security arrangements."

I looked up.

"The three attacks reported last week were traced to the river district. The early assessment was isolated incidents involving unusually aggressive animals. Military response was limited because there was no evidence of a wider threat."

River district.

No.

I remembered the footage from my first life, replayed on every screen once it was too late. Overturned vehicles. Blood across a road. A reporter's voice shaking behind the camera.

The north side. The old rail yard.

"They weren't," I said.

Adrik stopped.

"The animals didn't come from the river district. They came from the north side, near the old rail yard."

Every head at the table turned toward me.

My stomach dropped. I stared at the map, understanding what I had just done. Nobody had asked for my opinion. I could have kept quiet and let him finish. Instead, I had corrected a general in front of his own officers.

His gaze settled on me. "Is that so?"

The same two words he'd used in the hallway. I forced myself to look at him.

"My records say river district," he said.

No accusation. His face didn't change. That was worse.

"I read about it in a local paper," I said. "A report about the attacks near the rail yard."

"Which paper?"

It came too fast.

"I don't remember the name."

"Do you remember when it was published?"

The officer beside me shifted. I had to end this.

"One of the early reports. I came across it while I was reading about the first incidents."

He held my gaze a moment longer. Then he nodded. "I see."

He lowered his eyes to the page and wrote something small in the margin.

That was all. No more questions. He went on with the briefing as though I hadn't spoken.

I couldn't follow it anymore. I watched his pen move and wondered what it had written. A correction? A note that I had known something I shouldn't?

I tried to remember whether any paper had printed the rail yard location. In those first days, the news had been chaos. Reports contradicted each other, some were pulled, others were corrected. I wasn't even sure the location had ever been public.

Under the table, my nails pressed half-moons into my palm.

"Miss Alistair?"

The construction supervisor was waiting. "Would your father like the western access road kept open during phase one?"

I breathed. "Yes, if it doesn't interfere with security."

Adrik glanced up. "That road will be restricted once perimeter work begins."

"Then we'll arrange an alternate route for the contractors."

"That would be preferable."

I made myself take part. I asked about schedules, approved the temporary offices, and requested copies of the revised plans for my father. I did everything expected of me. All the while, I felt Adrik at the other end of the table the way you feel a draft.

When the briefing ended, the officers gathered their papers. I stood and picked up my handbag.

"Miss Alistair."

He was closing his folder. "Your father should have the revised security arrangements before the next phase."

"Of course. I'll see that he does."

"Good."

I waited for more. He didn't give it. He turned to Captain Reynolds and began talking about the next inspection.

I walked out into the morning. The air had warmed, and it didn't help. I passed two soldiers carrying metal barriers and heard none of their conversation. My driver waited beside the car.

"Ready to leave, Miss Alistair?"

"One minute."

I looked back at the command tent. Through the open flap, Adrik stood with an officer, the same folder under his arm. He glanced up. Our eyes met across the grass.

Then he looked away.

My hands had gone cold.

He had done it on purpose. A wrong location, laid in front of me like a coin on a table, to see whether I would pick it up. It had never been a mistake in his records.

It had been a test.

And I had failed.

I pressed my palms flat against my trousers to warm them. What did he suspect? That I knew something I shouldn't? That I was hiding it? Or had he just wanted to see whether I would contradict him?

I didn't know. That was what scared me most.

Adrik Hale was a general. He had resources, files, and people who could investigate almost anything. If he decided I was worth his attention, I could lose control of everything I was trying to protect.

I couldn't let that happen. Not when my family was finally safe. Not when we were finally preparing for what was coming.

I got into the car.

"Home, miss?"

"Yes."

As we pulled away, I watched through the rear window. Trucks crossed the property. The tents stood steady in the breeze. Everything was going according to plan, except me.

My memories had kept me alive. They were also becoming a danger. Every careless word was a thread someone could pull.

I closed my eyes.

He had tested me, and I had failed.

But if Adrik Hale wanted to play this game, I could play it too. I would just choose the next move myself.