All Chapters of Cold Hands, Warm Lies: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The lower server room was never rebuilt.Too much damage after the Halo breach. Echo had bypassed it completely, calling it "unstable infrastructure."Sera knew better.It wasn’t unstable.It was uncontrolled.Which meant unreachable for a system that thrived on order.So that’s where she went.The walls still smelled of melted wire and ozone.One door hung from a single hinge. The floor was dusted in ash, soot-black and soft beneath her boots. Every step left a ghost of her behind.At the far wall, under a collapsed power conduit, she found it:A cracked, half-melted recorder.Old. Physical. Not networked.Untouchable.She powered it on.Somehow, it still worked.> [A click. Then Elise’s voice. Frantic. No polish.]> “If anyone finds this, it wasn’t meant for you. I didn’t mean to record it. But… I can’t delete it.”> “She said it today. Said she’d bury me in my secrets and feel nothing.”> “She meant it.”> “God, I think she really meant it.”A pause. Then Elise again, quieter.> “I

The penthouse felt strange this morning. Not cold, exactly just off, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.Sera moved through the rooms like she did before everything shattered: aware of space, sound, scent. But now it felt different, no longer a surveillance fortress. Just a home tempered by mourning and memory.Lucien met her in the control room. He’d been up late decoding a dormant folder Elise never flagged: “OPUS_FINAL_LOGS.”On the primary monitor: a single line of red text shot through a sea of white.> :: TARGET CODE: MAPLE – INITIATE AT DAWN“Maple,” Lucien breathed, sweeping his fingers over the text.Sera leaned forward.> “Maple who?”Lucien didn’t know.> “This isn’t Halo AI. This prefix doesn’t match any of them.”Sera slid into his seat no hesitation.> “Which means…”> “It’s someone Elise trusted enough to hide from even Halo.”They stared at the screen.Sera’s fingers hovered over the keyboard.> “Show me everything under that log.”Lucien nodded and r

Sera’s fingers trembled as she closed the brownstone door behind them. The night air evaporated from her skin, leaving only the lingering warmth of Lucien pressed to her side.> Lucien (soft): “You okay?”Sera didn’t answer for a heartbeat. Then she turned, grounding him in her eyes.> Sera (low): “Nothing’s okay. But we’re alive.”The tension between them crackled charged descriptors, burnt embers they couldn’t extinguish.> Lucien (heartbeat): “Then let’s not waste a second.”He pulled her into the dark street. Her pulse synchronized with his footsteps on cobblestone. Each step was both a pathway and pledge.Back at Lucien’s penthouse, the windows framed the city’s glow but offered no comfort. Inside, the atmosphere hummed with aftershocks.Sera’s coat fell to the floor. Lucien pressed her back against the wall.> Lucien (whisper): “Are you still with me?”Sera’s breath caught. She tilted her chin up.> Sera (smile curving): “Right here.”He leaned in, lips grazing hers. It wasn't f

The penthouse felt emptier than before, spacious, sleek, yet charged with absence. The city lights glinted on polished surfaces but provided no warmth.Sera stepped across the marble floor, bag slung low, senses on high alert. Maple followed atop barely silent socks. Dr. Marte lingered just behind them, eyes flicking to every control panel. Lucien closed the door with slow precision, as if sealing away more than cold air.> Lucien (quiet): “They searched everywhere else. I thought ”Sera turned to him, noting the tension around his jaw.> Sera: “They did. But not here.”He exhaled, relief and worry coiling together.> Lucien: “I’ve sent my security team home for now didn’t want anyone around while we clean up.”> Sera: “Let’s start.”She flicked the light switch. Cameras blinked on, screens flooded four dozen feeds of living rooms, corridors, bathrooms. Lucien sank into his chair.> Lucien: “Halo’s code routed through every sensor. If Firebrand was alive in the vents… they could’ve pl

The press event was set in Lucien’s private atrium glass walls facing the skyline, under tempest skies. A crowd of flashing cameras and masked elites. Security thick, tension thicker.Sera stood at the podium, facing the crowd. Lucien, Dr. Marte, Maple, and Henry flanked her behind velvet ropes. No tech barriers this time, only truth.The livestream began.> Sera (Voice strong):“Good evening. My name is Sera Duvall. Two years ago, I lost my sister. Tonight, I stand in front of you not as a victim but as the woman who chose to expose her disappearance, her death, her truth.”Cameras whirred rumors held.> Sera:“What I’m about to reveal has remained hidden within the systems of Calder Technologies deep emotional surveillance. Programs designed to track, predict, and manipulate our feelings. We called it ‘Project Firebrand.’”She clicked the remote. A giant screen lit up a video timeline: Firebrand trials, biometric extrapolation, boardroom footage.Gasps. Camera flares.> Sera:“These