"Before we destroyed the old Moretti archives, I found a reference to this symbol buried inside one of Jack Moretti's encrypted files. I couldn't open the entire document, but I saw this."
He pointed to the mark.
"It was attached to a phrase."
Aria's voice lowered.
"What phrase?"
Noah looked directly at her.
The Empire Beneath the Empire.
The room went silent.
Rafael's expression darkened.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"Then find out."
Noah nodded.
He immediately opened his laptop.
His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.
Aria remained beside him, staring at the symbol.
It was strangely simple.
A circle.
Three vertical lines through its center.
And beneath them, a small crown turned upside down.
It wasn't threatening.
That somehow made it worse.
Rafael noticed her staring.
"You don't have to face this tonight."
Aria looked at him.
"I've spent my entire life running from things I didn't understand."
She picked up the photograph.
