Vivian never believed in desperation.
Desperation was emotional.
Emotion clouded strategy.
And strategy, when clouded, collapsed.
Ethan was collapsing.
She could see it in the way he paced.
In the way he repeated the same logic over and over.
"They're tightening security," he muttered.
"Of course they are," Vivian replied calmly.
"He didn't panic."
"Because he doesn't."
Ethan slammed his palm against the desk.
"He should have reacted!"
Vivian's gaze sharpened.
"He did."
"Where?"
"Silently."
Silence is not absence of response.
It is often preparation.
Vivian understood Adrian differently than Ethan ever could.
Adrian did not lash out.
He absorbed.
He fortified.
He recalibrated.
And then
he countered when probability favored him.
Direct attack would not break him.
So she wouldn't attack directly.
She would destabilize environment.
"You're thinking too small," she told Ethan.
"Then enlighten me."
"You're trying to scare him."
"That's the point."
