“Then someone bought years of trust,” Marco said.
Olivia’s laptop flashed a warning.
“The server intrusion is escalating. They’re trying to reach Aurora’s neural architecture.”
Marco turned to Victor.
“Find Aaron. Discreetly. Don’t alert him.”
A few minutes later, security footage showed Aaron leaving through the underground garage with two men.
“They know,” Kiara whispered.
Then her phone buzzed.
Helena.
Where are you, girl? It is getting dark. I am worried.
Kiara’s chest tightened.
If the conspirators knew Kiara had recorded Aaron, they might follow her.
They might find Helena.
Marco saw her face.
“Your grandmother needs to be moved somewhere safe.”
Kiara called Helena using a secure phone.
“Grandma, listen to me. Take the emergency bag.”
On the other end, Helena went silent.
The emergency bag was not something they joked about. It contained documents, medicine, photographs, a little cash, and the old habits of a woman who had once fled war.
“What did you do, Kiara?”
“I did what you taught me. I paid attention. I saw something wrong, and I didn’t stay quiet.”
A long breath.
“Is someone coming after you?”
“Maybe. Please go to Mrs. Viola’s. Someone trustworthy will watch the building.”
Helena did not waste time. Fear did not make her slow. It made her precise.
“Little eagle,” she said, voice low, “remember this. Powerful men protect their interests before they protect people. Trust actions, not promises.”
Kiara looked across the room at Marco giving orders, his face controlled but his eyes deeply worried.
“I’ll remember.”
That night, Kiara and Fiona were moved to a secure corporate apartment on the thirty-fifth floor. It had white sheets, a view of the city, and a bed so large Kiara sat on the edge for several minutes before daring to lie down.
She barely slept.
She dreamed of Helena’s emergency bag.
Of Aaron’s face.
Of the limousine door closing with Marco inside.
Of a tunnel without light.
The next morning, the crisis had grown.
Aaron had been found unconscious in the underground garage. Before losing consciousness again, he said only a few words.
“Solon Corporation.”
The company’s biggest competitor.
And then: “Inside. At the top.”
Someone in Marco’s inner circle was working with them.
Only five people had access capable of reaching Aurora’s core: Marco, Victor, Olivia, Pietro from research, and Luca Carmen, the finance director.
Kiara remembered Luca from the night before.
Elegant. Cold. Perfectly dressed. Condescending. He had looked at her like she was a dirty window he wished someone else would clean.
“And since when do street children speak Arabic?” he had asked.
Her answer had been calm.
“I’m not a street kid. I have a home. I just don’t have money.”
Now his credentials had been used in the breach.
So had others.
Someone was sowing confusion.
“Let me help,” Kiara said.
Marco frowned.
“No.”