11:40 AM – Estate War Room
The estate was unusually silent.
Outside the tall glass windows, the city continued its normal routine—cars moving, people walking, life flowing as if nothing had happened.
But inside the estate's war room, the atmosphere was completely different.
Dozens of advanced monitors were active across the walls, each displaying security feeds, encrypted data streams, and intelligence reports.
Most of them were connected to the same thing—
Project Genesis.
The file that had triggered everything.
In the center of the room stood Srikant, his eyes fixed on the massive digital screen in front of him. His expression was calm, but anyone who knew him well could sense the controlled tension behind that calmness.
Behind him, multiple analysts were working nonstop.
Yet none of them had found what they were searching for.
At another workstation, Rudra Sen leaned slightly forward while scanning lines of encrypted code.
His fingers moved across the keyboard with mechanical precision.
"Still nothing?" Srikant asked quietly.
Rudra exhaled slowly.
"They wiped the trail extremely well."
He tapped a few keys again and several encrypted folders appeared on the main display.
"Axis didn't just steal the Genesis data," Rudra continued.
"They knew exactly what they were looking for."
Srikant's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That means the leak came from inside."
Silence filled the room.
Everyone understood the implication.
Someone somewhere had helped Axis.
Across the room, Sasmita sat quietly near the long operations table.
She wasn't a spy.
She wasn't trained for intelligence operations.
Just a few days ago her life had been normal—college classes, social media, small arguments with friends.
Now she was sitting inside a high-security command room surrounded by global intelligence data.
Even she still couldn't believe it.
Her gaze moved slowly toward the large screen displaying Genesis data.
"So all of this…" she said softly, "is happening because of that file?"
Rudra looked at her.
"Not exactly."
Sasmita frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Rudra paused for a moment, then replied carefully.
"Genesis contains thousands of profiles. Politicians, scientists, military leaders… people whose information could change the balance of power."
He pointed toward the highlighted section of the database.
"But Axis didn't take everything."
"They only copied specific files."
Sasmita looked confused.
"Specific files?"
Srikant answered this time.
"Yes."
"And one of those files… is connected to you."
The words hit her like a shock.
"Me?"
"That doesn't make sense," she said quickly. "I'm just a normal person."
But neither Srikant nor Rudra responded immediately.
Because deep down…
They were no longer sure that was true.
Suddenly—
One of the monitors flashed a new notification.
ACCESS ATTEMPT DETECTED
Rudra turned instantly.
"That's impossible."
He opened the system log.
Someone was trying to access a hidden section of Genesis.
From outside the estate network.
The room grew tense.
"Trace the signal," Srikant ordered calmly.
Rudra began typing rapidly.
Data lines scrolled across the screen.
Then the trace stopped.
Not blocked.
Not lost.
Simply… ended.
Rudra leaned back slowly.
"That's not a hacker."
Srikant looked at him.
"Then what is it?"
Rudra's voice dropped slightly.
"Someone who already knows what they're looking for."
At that exact moment—
The large central screen suddenly flickered.
The Genesis database opened automatically.
A single file appeared on the display.
The title slowly formed on the screen.
PROJECT AURORA
Sasmita stared at it.
A strange, uneasy feeling grew inside her chest.
She didn't know why…
But the name felt familiar.
Too familiar.
Then the file opened.
And the first photograph appeared on the screen.
A laboratory.
Several scientists.
And in the center—
A young child sitting inside a testing chamber.
The room went completely silent.
Because that child…
Looked exactly like Sasmita.
To be continued…