oiding her father

anuals and vintage Roth Tech patents it still felt like trespassing. The portrait of her late grandfather hung behind the desk like a silent judge, eyes pa

omething in Liam's

r firewall. But his eyes hadn't met hers. There was a tightness in his shoulders, an undercurrent of something more than just work stress

ridors were empty. The city below was only beginning to stir. She walked in without turning on the lights, le

t hit he

ke my memory. Her heart twisted painfully. She didn't want to cry again, not here. Not tod

nitials engraved in gold, a broken pocket watch s

photo of her mother holding a younger version of herself. She paused there longer th

drawer did

laimed transparency was the strongest form of dominance. "If you know

This drawer

nd stilled on a small groove, hidden so precisely it could've been missed

piece of black velv

physical vault from another century. The teeth were jagged, notched in a wa

at the edges. Her name, Elena, was written in he

ook as she

ike it carried weight beyond its size. She opened it slow

I'm gone, and I've failed to

ven a Roth can't f

the rest i

're ready to learn the cost o

codes. No furt

e at the bot

s the letter blurred in her visi

uld be so dangerous that it re

feeling the cold pressure of the brass key in her

of nostalgia vanished. What was once her father's

ft someth

A secret not meant to be discovered u

hough she had understood the man behind

told a dif

then someone else might be working just as hard t

st, she had to

e believed about the man who raise