Water closed over Camille''s head. Cold. So cold it burned
her skin. She kicked toward the surface, arms iling, lungs
screaming for air. But something held her
down, hands gripping her ankles, dragging her deeper into the darkness.
She looked down. Rose stared back at her, grinning, her hair floating around her
face like seaweed. Beside her, Herod Preston, his
eyes t and lifeless as a shark''s. They pulled
harder. The pressure in Camille''s chest built to unbearable levels.
She opened her mouth to scream, but only bubbles escaped as water rushed in..
Camille jolted upright in bed, gasping. Her
nightgown stuck to her skin, soaked with sweat. For a moment, she couldn''t remember where she was. Then the familiar outlines of her bedroom at the Kane mansion took shape in the darkness.
Just a dream. The same dream that had haunted her for months after Rose''s betrayal. The one Victoria''s training had eventually banished.
Until now.
Camille switched on the bedsidemp, chasing away the shadows. The digital
clock read 3:17 AM. She pushed back the tangled sheets and
moved to the window, pressing her forehead against the cool ss. Below, the estate''s gardens
stretched out, security lights casting strange patterns across the manicuredwns. Beyond the gates, Manhattan glittered in the distance.
This was the third night in a row the nightmare had returned. Each time more
vivid. Each time harder to shake off.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. Alexander''s text: *Awake?*
How did he always know? Camille typed back: *Bad dream again.*
Three dots appeared immediately. *Coming over. Kitchen. Hot chocte.*
A small smile touched her lips
despite the lingering dread from the nightmare. Alexander
had developed an almost supernatural sense for when she couldn''t sleep. Since their visit to his childhood home, since
that first real kiss their connection had deepened into something that sometimes
frightened her with its intensity.
Camille pulled on a silk robe and padded barefoot down the mansion''s
grand staircase. The
house was silent except for the asional creak of settling wood and the
soft footsteps of security guards patrolling outside.
In the kitchen, she switched on a single light and filled the kettle. Alexander would
arrive in exactly twelve minutes. He always did, no matter
what time she texted. One of the many mysteries about him she
hadn''t solved yet.
As she reached for mugs in the cab, a movement in the garden caught her eye.
Camille froze, staring out the window. Nothing but shifting shadows from the trees.
Yet something felt... wrong. The hairs on her arms stood up.
She moved away from
the window, suddenly aware of how exposed she was in the
lit kitchen. Victoria''s training kicked in automatically. Assess the threat. Minimize vulnerability. Create advantage.
The kettle began to whistle. Camille switched it off and backed toward the pantry.
as her fingers found the light switch, the kitchen door swung open.
Just
"Security sweep is clear."
Camille
nearly copsed with relief at the sound of Alexander''s voice. He stood in the doorway, his expression shifting from alert to concerned when he saw her face.
"What happened?" He crossed to her in three quick strides.
"Nothing. I thought I saw something in the garden. Just shadows." Camille tried to smile. "The nightmares have me jumpy."
Alexander didn''t look convinced. He moved
to the window, scanning the grounds with practiced eyes. "Security has been doubled since yesterday. Victoria''s orders."
"Why?" Camille asked, resuming her preparation of hot chocte. "What aren''t you two telling me?"
Alexander hesitated, then joined her at the counter. "Victoria found
something. She
wanted to wait until the Grid corrections wereplete before telling you."
"Tell me what?" The nightmare''s lingering dread intensified. "Alexander, no more secrets."
He nodded, taking the mug she offered. "Herod Preston
has been buying Kane Industries stock
through shellpanies. Just over five percent so far."
Camille stilled. "A takeover attempt?"
"Unlikely
to seed. Victoria owns sixty percent, and I recently purchased ten percent myself." Alexander held her gaze. “But it suggests Herod''s ns extend beyond sabotaging
the Grid."
The kitchen suddenly felt too small, too exposed. Camille wrapped
her hands around her mug, seeking warmth.
"The nightmares started the same day Victoria discovered this," she said
quietly. "I didn''t know about it, but somehow I... sensed it."
Alexander didn''t dismiss this as superstition, as most would have.
"Your subconscious picks up cues your conscious mind misses. Victoria''s been tenser. Security protocols changed. Small signals."
They moved to the breakfast nook, sitting across from each other in the dimly lit
kitchen. Outside, the night pressed against the windows like a living thing.
26
"Tell me about the nightmare," Alexander said.
Camille stared into her mug. "I''m drowning. Rose is pulling me down. But now
Herod is with her." She looked up. "It''s
different from before. There''s this sense of... running out
of time."
Alexander
reached across the table, taking her hand. The contact anchored her, driving back the nightmare''s ghostly tendrils.
"There''s more you should know," he said. "The
shadow engineering team found anotheryer of sabotage in the Grid. More
sophisticated than
the first. And installed by someone with higher security clearance than Walsh."
"Who?"
"Victoria suspects Martin Greene. Her head of special projects."
The name hit Camille like a physical blow. Martin Greene, the silver-
haired executive who had been at Victoria''s side
for years. Who had helped train Camille when she first arrived. Who knew
every detail of Kane Industries operations.
"That''s not possible," she whispered. "He''s been with her since..."
"Since Sophia died," Alexander finished. "Fifteen years of apparent loyalty. Which makes the betrayal all the more devastating."
Camille pushed her mug away, no longer interested in itsfort. “If
Greene is working with
Herod, we have a serious security breach. He knows everything, security protocols, the Grid designs, even
details about..." She paused, a new thought
freezing her blood. "Even details about me. About who I was before."
Alexander''s expression darkened. "Victoria has him under
surveince. If he''smunicating with Herod or Rose, we''ll know."
"That might be toote." Camille stood, suddenly unable to sit still. "We
need to move more aggressively. Find Herod directly."
"Victoria wants to wait. Use Greene to lead us to him."
"While we wait, they''re nning something we haven''t anticipated."
Camille paced the kitchen, her nightmare''s urgency transferring to her waking
thoughts. "The Grid sabotage. The stock purchases. Greene''s
betrayal. It''s all connected, but we''re missing the pattern."
She stopped abruptly at the window, staring
out into the darkness. The garden lights cast long shadows across the
"What if there''s anotheryerwe haven''t uncovered yet?" she asked softly. "What
if everything we''ve discovered so far is just the surface?"
Alexander joined her at the window. "What are you thinking?"
"I''m thinking about Rose," Camille said. "She''s always been
careful. Methodical. Her
316
maniption of my family took years of patient nning. And
Herod..." She shook her head. "Victoria says he''s been building
his revenge for a decade. People like that don''t put all their hopes on one n."
"Victoria''s releasing false information
tomorrow," Alexander said. "A press release about a major partnership between Kane Industries and Pierce Enterprises. Designed
to make Herod react."
"And expose himself," Camille nodded. "Smart. But I''m not sure it''s enough."
She moved to the refrigerator, pulling out milk to reheat their
cooling hot chocte. As she stirred the milk in a pan, her mind raced through possibilities.
"The stock purchases," she said suddenly. "When did they begin?"
Alexander leaned against the counter beside her. "Six
months ago, ording to Victoria''s investigators."
"Before Rose connected with Herod," Camille noted. "Before the Grid sabotage ns."
"Yes. Which suggests...."
"That Rose didn''t find Herod," Camille finished. "Herod found Rose. He sought her
out specifically because of her connection to me."
Alexander''s eyes narrowed as he followed her logic. "So Rose
isn''t the mastermind
here. She''s a tool."
"A weapon aimed at me." Camille poured the warmed milk into
their mugs. "But I''m not the true target. I never was."
"Victoria," Alexander said softly.
Camille nodded, the pieces falling into ce. "Herod wanted
revenge against Victoria for destroying his family. He researched her, found
her connection to me, and then found the perfect
person to help him strike at Victoria through me."
"Rose."
"Exactly." Camille felt a chill despite the warmth of the kitchen. "Which means
we''ve been looking at this all wrong. We''ve been treating Rose as the
primary threat, with Herod as her powerful ally. But it''s the reverse."
They returned to
the table with their refreshed drinks. Outside, the sky had begun to lighten imperceptibly, the deep ck softening toward dark
blue.
"If you''re right,” Alexander said, "then Rose might not even understand the
full scope of Herod''s ns."
"No. She thinks this is about destroying me. About taking back what she believes
I stole from her." Camille wrapped her hands around her
mug. "But for Herod, it''s about Victoria. About making her suffer the way he
suffered when she destroyed his family."
Alexander''s expression grew grave. "And the
most effective way to hurt Victoria now..."
"Is through me," Camille finished. "Her heir. Her adoptive daughter. The one thing she truly cares about."
The
realization hung between them in the quiet kitchen. Dawn was approaching, but the shadows seemed deeper than before.
"My nightmare makes sense now," Camille said softly. "Rose pulling me down isn''t the real danger. It''s Herod, patient, hidden, with a n we still don''t fully understand." Alexander reached across the table, taking her hand again. "We''ll figure it out. Together."
Camille nodded, drawing strength from his touch. But the nightmare''s dread still clung to her like a second skin.
"Four days until the Gridunch," she said. "Whatever
they''re nning, it''sing.
soon."
“Victoria has the shadow engineering team working around the clock to undo the
sabotage. The Grid will be secure."
"But what if the Grid isn''t
the endgame? What if it''s just another distraction?" Camille met his gaze directly. "The stock purchases. The
sabotage. Martin Greene''s betrayal. What if they''re all just pieces of something
Alexander didn''t dismiss her concerns. "Then we need to find the pattern."
He pulled out his phone, sending
a quick text. A momentter, his phone buzzed with a response.
"Victoria wants to meet at seven. Full strategic briefing." He looked up at Camille. "She''s been up
all night too, apparently."
"She feels it too," Camille said. "The danger closing in."
They sat in silence as the first rays of sunrise
began to filter through the kitchen. windows. The night''s shadows retreated, but the sense of lurking threat remained.
Camille thought of her nightmare, of being pulled under dark water, of fighting for breath, of Rose and Herod
dragging her down. Now the dream''s meaning seemed clearer, more ominous.
It wasn''t just about drowning. It was about time running out.
Four days until the Gridunch. Four days for them to uncover whatever Herod was truly
nning.
Four days for Camille to ensure that her nightmare remained just
that, a dream, not a prophecy.
But as she looked into Alexander''s worried eyes, she
couldn''t shake the feeling that whatever wasing would be worse than anything she had
imagined. And unlike her nightmare, there would be no waking up from it.