로그인The sky hadn't fully brightened yet. Morning light seeped through the curtains, washing the room in a pale, muted gray. The silence was thick, broken only by the soft whisper of her own breathing. She stayed under the covers for a few more seconds, her eyes tracing the faint lines on the ceiling. Then she pushed the blanket aside.Avery pulled the yellowed medical record from under her pillow. She didn't look at the words again. In the faint light, she folded it as small as it would go and tucked it into the lining of her bra, right against her chest. The paper was thin and brittle, pressing into her skin like a secret she could feel with every heartbeat.Then she took out the encrypted phone from beneath the bed and dialed.It rang three times. The fourth ring had barely started when someone picked up."Boss, it's five thirty in the morning... What's wrong?"Sophia's voice was muffled, thick with sleep, like she was still buried under her pillow."Can you meet today? The usual place.
"It's the medical record after your mother was transferred out of Diamond City."Evan looked at her across the table, his gaze carrying a rare softness she hadn't expected from him."It leaked from the old database of Kessler's overseas sanatorium network," he continued. "However, there is only a single page available."Avery stared at the sheet of paper, her fingers curling tightly beneath the hem of her dark skirt. She could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on her shoulders, even though the page itself was nearly weightless.“She was admitted there," Evan said, his voice dropping very low. "Whether she is still there, I cannot verify. But Avery, this is the limit of what I can do for you right now.""How did you get this?""Wenger." Evan adjusted his glasses with a self-deprecating smile. "He kept a hidden backdoor inside the old Thorne network. Dominic's surveillance cannot trace it here, but I can."Wenger. The face of her former mentor flashed through Avery's mind. Her
Dominic came back precisely at dusk, his presence bringing a sudden, quiet chill to the upper level of the estate. Avery sat near the window, an unread book resting on her lap without a single page turned. She had been staring at the same paragraph for over an hour, her mind far too clouded to absorb the print.The rhythm of the footsteps echoing through the long hallway was entirely familiar to her—unhurried, heavy, and striking the floorboards with a deliberate, disciplined weight that always signaled his arrival.The heavy door swung open, its hinges groaning softly, but the man didn't step inside the room. He stood anchored on the threshold, framed by the dim light of the corridor."Change your clothes."She turned to look at him, her posture immediately stiffening. "Where are we going?""The Thorne family gala," Dominic said, his grey eyes locking onto her face with an unyielding intensity. "Evan Thorne called personally. He specifically asked for you to be present. Tonight, the
The man lying beside her breathed in a deep, heavy rhythm, but Avery tossed and turned, unable to find sleep. With her eyes closed, the only thing she could hear was the steady, measured cadence of his breathing. The silence of the master bedroom seemed to amplify every sound, making the slow rise and fall of his chest feel incredibly loud in the quiet room.She turned over once more to face him. The weak glow from the nightlight fell across his features, casting long, soft shadows over his sharp jawline. His lips were parted slightly, and his brow remained drawn in a faint, tight knot, as if even in sleep, his mind was still actively computing the dangerous variables of his empire.Avery stared fixedly at his face, her hand hovering directly above the center of his forehead, less than an inch away from his skin. Staring at that deep crease, her fingers felt as if they were being drawn by an invisible thread, lowering toward him millimeter by millimeter. She wanted to smooth out that
Dominic didn't answer right away. Instead, he walked over to the window. Outside, the sky was a dull, heavy gray, choked with thick clouds. Down in the courtyard, the white peacock was huddled on a patch of dead grass, its feathers tucked in so tightly it looked like a stuffed specimen."Specimens. Live ones," he said, his voice completely flat. "The cold-chain line D.S. is running through North Port is being used exclusively to move live specimens."Avery’s heart skipped a beat. "What kind of specimens?"Dominic turned around, his grey eyes locking onto hers with sudden sharpness. "You're crossing the line, Dr. Clair.""I need to know.""No, you don't."He stepped closer, his towering frame casting a long shadow over her."Instead of worrying about secrets you can't reach," he said, looking down at her, "you need to focus on staying in this room. Take care of Dorothea, and make sure your brother's medication is managed. Understood?""You—""Jessica will be staying at the estate for a
The linen napkin fell from Avery’s fingers, pooling uselessly against the surface of the mahogany table. "What is the precise meaning of your data packet?"An absolute silence collapsed over the dining hall for several prolonged seconds. Jessica Winster deposited her silver utensils flat against the table, lifting her crystal water glass to execute a calculated sip. Her tracking focus cut across the rim of the glass, pinning Avery’s silhouette across the space."Dr. Clair, your department is not required to deploy that specific visual analysis toward my profile." Jessica deposited the glass back onto the table with a clean resonance. "My presence within these coordinates does not track with personal intent. I cleared the outer perimeter simply because his station demanded my deployment."She shifted her chin fractionally toward the apex of the board, indicating Dominic’s position.Dominic offered zero verbal data to close the loop. He remained leaned back against the support of his ch







