A full week had passed since the explosive confrontation with his father. The signed severance agreement, now just a file scanned and saved on Evelyn's laptop, felt like a tombstone for a relationship that had died long ago. Paying his father five hundred dollars had been a small price for the peace it finally brought.
But that peace was fragile, and their workshop had become a fortress to protect it. Thanks to Silva's connections, a solid steel door now replaced the old wooden one, complete with a keypad lock that glowed with a soft red light. Small, discreet cameras watched the empty street from the corners. True to his chaotic nature, Silva had set off the alarm three times in the first hour just by forgetting the code, But the System's security task was complete, and the low, steady hum of the new equipment was a constant, comforting reminder that they were building something that could be defended.
