CHAPTER 31:Crack And Mirrors

The first red flag was a delay.

Anita reviewed her digital briefing folder one morning and noticed a timing discrepancy—one file had been opened before her assistant had access. Only by five minutes. But five minutes in her world was a lifetime.

She said nothing.

She simply watched.

That same day, Julian received an unmarked envelope in his private office.

Inside: a single printed photo.

It was him and Anita from the launch event—laughing, leaning close, framed in a way that suggested intimacy.

No sender. No message.

Just a card at the bottom that read:

"You still know which side to be on?"

He didn't take the bait. He didn't destroy it either.

He locked it away.

Meanwhile, Anita cross-checked three internal logs from her security team. Subtle inconsistencies: timestamps out of sync, minor metadata drift on key documents, unusual file duplication.

Someone was watching.

She didn't say it out loud, not even to Julian.

Not yet.

Instead, she planted a breadcrumb.

She edited a confidential strategy memo with false numbers—just one document, sent to a tightly controlled distribution list.

Then she waited.

Julian walked into her office that evening. She was seated at her desk, bathed in the soft glow of the desk lamp.

He held the envelope.

"I received this."

She glanced at it but didn't touch it. "And?"

"I thought you should know. Someone's trying to question my loyalty."

She finally looked up, her eyes sharp. "Are they right to?"

Julian didn't flinch. "No."

She nodded once. "Then burn it."

Elsewhere, in a private signal channel, Avery flagged a report.

"Julian Rivera may be a weakness—or a shield. Need deeper access to his communications."

"George suspects something. Suggest we delay active intrusion."

Response: "Denied. Keep pressure. She needs to slip."

That night, Anita poured herself a glass of red wine in her apartment and stared out at the city.

Her rebirth had given her foresight.

Now she needed something rarer: certainty.

Not just about the war she was fighting—but about the man standing beside her.