Fidelia had noticed that Andrian had disappeared and it was unusual it was really very early. So out of curiosity she this morning she was going to find out where he went.
The tracker pinged. Still inside the house. But she'd checked every room twice.
Fidelia stood in the garage, staring at her phone. The signal was coming from… below?
Her eyes swept the large space. Lots of Luxury cars and vehicles, she followed the tracker on her phone and was lead to the end of the wall then she saw the wall wasn't a real wall.. it a nearly invisible seam in the wall.
She pressed her hand against the level some distance away from the wall and pulled it. Then a section of the wall slid open, revealing a steel elevator.
She entered the elevator and it took her down then when it got to the destination it stopped.
The elevator doors slid open with a low hiss.
Fidelia stepped forward cautiously, her heels echoing softly against the steel floor. Her eyes widened as she took in the underground space the rows of glowing screens, the cold hum of servers, the walls lined with tech, files, and strange machinery she didn't recognize.
Her voice came out in awe, almost a whisper. "What… is this place?"
Andrian spun around, his entire body going rigid. For a split second, something flashed across his face, shock, then fury, then something darker.
"Fidelia." Her name came out like a threat. "How the hell did you get in here?"
She walked deeper in, her gaze sweeping across the massive underground chamber.
"I can't believe this. How big is this place?" She turned toward him, her expression hardening.
"What are you doing here, Andrian? And how did you even build all this?"
Andrian exhaled slowly, loosening his tie as he stepped closer. "What are you doing here? And how did you find out about this place?"
Fidelia crossed her arms. "Oh, so this is one of your secrets, huh? The ones you've been hiding from me?"
"This is my safe place," Andrian said firmly, his voice tight. "And I would have preferred it if no one but me knew about it."
Fidelia's tone sharpened. "Have you forgotten we're supposed to be allies to share things with each other?"
"We are allies," Andrian replied, his voice steady but guarded. "But that doesn't mean I need to tell you every single thing I have going on."
Fidelia gave a small, incredulous laugh. "Do you expect me to just accept that? Wow."
"Like I said," Andrian pressed, his eyes narrowing slightly, "how did you find out about this place? No one knows about it."
Fidelia met his gaze evenly. "Well, I noticed you were gone from the house, so I did some tracking."
"Tracking?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I tracked your phone and found out that you were still inside the house. But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find you. That's when it hit me the signal was coming from below. So I checked the garage, looked around… and then I found this."
She gestured around the underground space. "Your secret wasn't so secretive after all, I guess."
Andrian stared at her for a long moment, silent. His jaw clenched.
Finally, he spoke quietly. "You shouldn't be here, Fidelia."
She took a slow step closer. "Then maybe you shouldn't have kept me in the dark."
The tension between them hung thick in the air.
A voice cut softly through the silence smooth, feminine, amused.
"Should I leave you two alone?"
Fidelia froze. She spun in a slow circle, scanning the room. "Who said that?"
The voice laughed softly. "Up here, darling."
Fidelia's eyes snapped to the main screen, where a waveform pulsed in rhythm with the words.
"Hello, Fidelia. I'm April. Nice to finally meet you."
Fidelia's jaw dropped slightly. "Wow… you have an AI, don't you? A real one?"
Andrian's jaw tensed. "April… not a word."
April chuckled, her tone teasing. "Come on, Andrian. Didn't you say she was going to be your wife? I know you well enough to know you wouldn't just marry anyone unless they had value."
Fidelia raised a brow, glancing sideways at him. "Oh, so you do think I have value," she said, her voice laced with sarcasm.
Andrian stayed quiet, his face unreadable.
"What's all this?" Fidelia asked, moving closer to the main console. Her eyes flicked to one of the screens, the paused video of the couple who had framed her.
April's voice softened. "The issue with you being framed and accused wrongfully has been cleared," she explained. "The public is on your side now. Guess what..you're trending, by the way."
Fidelia's lips twitched into a small, ironic smile. "Nice. Nice."
Andrian took a slow breath. "Fidelia, I think you need to leave now. I'm not comfortable with you being here."
But Fidelia wasn't listening anymore. Her gaze had shifted to another glowing screen, the one displaying Silver Statham's profile and campaign data.
Her expression froze.
"I know that guy," she said quietly.
Andrian's head snapped toward her. "What?"
Fidelia's eyes stayed fixed on the image of Silver Statham, the man smiling confidently from behind a podium.
Fidelia had never been invested in politics, but even she remembered the name Silver Statham. In her past life, his victory in the Starfield City mayoral race had been all over the news impossible to miss. Everyone knew about it, and so did she.
If this was Andrian's target, then perhaps it could be hers too. Supporting Silver at this early stage might be a smart move.
"Andrian," she said casually, glancing at the screen, "I think you should support him. He's definitely going to win the election for mayor."
Andrian looked skeptical. "I doubt that. But according to what April says, we should support him."
"She's right," Fidelia replied quickly. "And I agree we can win with him."
Andrian's tone hardened. "Hello? We already have a plan. So, no thank you. We don't need your help."
April's voice chimed in, light but firm. "Actually, Andrian… we might need her help."
"April, go to sleep," Andrian ordered flatly. "Shut down. That's a command."
The AI hesitated, then responded softly, "Understood." Her screens dimmed one by one, the room falling into silence as April went offline.
Fidelia smirked faintly. "Wow. April must like me a lot."
"Can you leave now?" Andrian asked, his voice colder.
"Are you kicking me out?" she shot back, teasing.
Andrian didn't smile. His voice turned cold. "Fidelia. I'm serious. Leave. Now."
He didn't like her being here, knowing about one of his secret bases. He wasn't ready to open up, and this felt like a violation.
Fidelia sighed dramatically. "Fine. I'm leaving."
She turned toward the elevator, calculating. She needed just ten seconds. Maybe fifteen.
She took three steps, then—
Her heel snapped.
She gasped, stumbling forward, catching herself on her knees.
"What are you—" Andrian started toward her.
"I'm fine!" Fidelia said quickly, waving him off. Her hand slipped into her bag.
She could see the CPU tower just inches away. The USB drive was warm in her palm.
Five seconds.
She leaned against the console for balance, her other hand sliding the drive into the port. It clicked softly.
Three seconds. The light blinked green.
"Stupid shoes," she muttered, loud enough for him to hear.
Connection established.
She stood, brushing off her dress with a sheepish smile. "I'm okay."
Andrian reached to steady her, but she waved him off and started up the stairs.
Her voice echoed softly behind her. "See you later, Mr. Secret."
"And to think," she said dryly, "I was going to see some secret vault filled with millions of dollars." Her lips curved in a faint smirk. "I'm so disappointed finding you."
Andrian's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
"I think I overrated you," Fidelia added, voice soft but cutting.
"Leave," Andrian said coldly.
The elevator doors slid open behind her with a hiss of hydraulics.
She stepped inside, eyes never leaving him. "Already on it."
"Go," Andrian repeated, quieter this time a warning more than a word.
The elevator doors closed with a soft clang.
Andrian stood in the sudden silence, staring at the spot where she'd fallen.
Something felt… wrong.
But he couldn't put his finger on it.
He turned back to the console, eyes scanning the screens. Everything looked normal.
"April," he said quietly. "Run a security diagnostic."
Silence. Then her voice returned, cautious. "Already on it. No anomalies detected."
Andrian nodded slowly.
But the unease didn't go away.
---
Inside the elevator, Fidelia leaned against the cold steel wall and let out a slow breath.
Her phone buzzed. A notification.
FILE TRANSFER IN PROGRESS: 2%
Estimated time: 47 minutes.
She smiled.
"Sorry, Mr. Secret," she whispered to the empty space. "But if you won't share your intel willingly…"
The elevator doors opened to the main house, warm light spilling in.
"…I'll just have to take it myself."