The doors closed behind Cassian.
The sound echoed through the conference room like a final warning.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The silence felt heavier than any argument.
Because Cassian had accomplished exactly what he wanted.
He had left uncertainty behind.
And uncertainty was dangerous.
Especially when trust was already beginning to crack.
"The fifth traitor is a lie."
One of the council members spoke first.
His voice sounded forced.
Unconvincing.
Even he didn't seem to believe it.
Selene crossed her arms.
"You sound uncertain."
The man immediately looked offended.
Unfortunately for him, she wasn't wrong.
Neither was the uncomfortable silence that followed.
Because everyone in the room had seen Kairo's reaction.
That tiny moment.
That brief widening of his eyes.
Cassian had touched something.
And now everyone knew it.
Including me.
My gaze shifted toward Kairo.
He remained standing exactly where he had been.
Expression unreadable.
Mind clearly working faster than anyone else's.
Thinking.
Analyzing.
Connecting pieces.
Then suddenly—
he turned and walked toward the exit.
No explanation.
No announcement.
Nothing.
Just movement.
"Kairo."
Selene immediately followed.
"So did I."
Because absolutely nobody was leaving me behind after a revelation like that.
Not happening.
The council members called after us, but none of us stopped.
The meeting was over.
The real battle had already begun.
---
The drive back to the estate felt different.
Much quieter.
Selene sat beside me, reviewing reports on a tablet.
Kairo sat across from us.
Silent.
Focused.
Dangerously focused.
The kind of focus that usually meant he was preparing something.
I hated it.
Not because I didn't trust him.
Because I did.
The problem was that whenever Kairo became this quiet, something important usually happened.
Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore.
"You're thinking."
"Yes."
"There it is."
His gaze shifted toward me.
I leaned forward.
"Who is it?"
Silence.
Not a good sign.
"Kairo."
Another pause.
Then—
"I don't know."
The answer surprised me.
Not because he admitted uncertainty.
Because he almost never did.
If Kairo said he didn't know something, then the situation was genuinely complicated.
Selene sighed.
"Let's review the facts."
Business mode.
Great.
That always meant bad news.
She set the tablet down.
"Five traitors."
"Potentially," Kairo corrected.
"Fine. Potentially five."
Selene rolled her eyes.
"We've already identified four possible suspects."
I frowned.
"Possible?"
"Nothing is confirmed."
That wasn't reassuring.
At all.
The vehicle continued moving through the city.
Outside, people continued their normal lives.
Inside, we were apparently discussing a hidden conspiracy.
Wonderful.
Selene glanced toward Kairo.
"The fifth one bothers you."
"Yes."
"Because?"
Silence.
Then—
"Because Cassian expected me to recognize the implication immediately."
The room fell quiet.
I thought about that.
And slowly—
very slowly—
understanding began to form.
Cassian hadn't simply announced another traitor.
He'd expected Kairo to know who it was.
Which meant—
the fifth person wasn't random.
They were significant.
Personally significant.
The realization made my stomach tighten.
"Someone close."
Kairo looked at me.
"Yes."
The answer felt like ice sliding down my spine.
Someone close.
Not an employee.
Not a distant ally.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone important.
The vehicle suddenly felt much colder.
---
By the time we returned to the estate, the atmosphere had changed again.
Security had doubled.
Guards stood at every entrance.
Communication teams rushed through the halls.
Reports arrived constantly.
The mansion felt less like a home and more like a command center.
Everyone was preparing for something.
The question was what.
We moved directly to Kairo's office.
The moment the door closed, several more reports were delivered.
Kairo read them rapidly.
One after another.
His expression never changing.
Which somehow made me more nervous.
Then—
he stopped.
Completely.
My stomach dropped.
Because I'd seen that reaction before.
Whenever Kairo found something important.
Something dangerous.
Something he didn't like.
Selene noticed immediately.
"What?"
Kairo didn't answer.
Instead, he handed her the report.
She read it.
And went pale.
Actually pale.
The sight immediately erased any remaining optimism I had.
"Someone tell me."
Nobody answered.
"Please stop doing that."
Still silence.
I stood.
Walked across the room.
And grabbed the report myself.
If nobody was going to explain things, I would.
The document contained financial records.
Transfer logs.
Communication authorizations.
Nothing unusual.
At first.
Then I reached the final page.
And froze.
A name.
One name.
Repeated throughout every suspicious transaction.
Every unauthorized movement.
Every questionable authorization.
One name.
A name I recognized.
A name that made absolutely no sense.
"No."
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Selene looked grim.
Kairo remained silent.
I stared at the page again.
Hoping I'd misread it.
I hadn't.
Because the name was still there.
Exactly where it had been before.
Marcus.
The head butler.
The man who had welcomed me when I first arrived at the estate.
The man who had worked for Kairo's family for decades.
The man everyone trusted.
"No."
I looked up.
"This has to be wrong."
Nobody argued.
Nobody agreed.
Which was somehow worse.
Marcus?
The same Marcus who reminded servants to take breaks?
Who personally ensured everyone was treated fairly?
Who had practically become the heartbeat of the estate?
Impossible.
Completely impossible.
Selene rubbed her forehead.
"The records don't lie."
"Records can be forged."
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
I grabbed onto that hope.
"Then that's it."
"No."
My stomach dropped again.
Because that answer came from Kairo.
And Kairo wouldn't dismiss a possibility without reason.
"The records were verified independently."
The hope vanished.
Just like that.
The room became silent.
I sank into the nearest chair.
Trying to process what I'd just learned.
Marcus.
The name kept repeating in my head.
Marcus.
Marcus.
Marcus.
None of it made sense.
Then another thought hit me.
One that made everything worse.
"Kairo."
His gaze shifted toward me.
"How long has Marcus worked for your family?"
A pause.
Then—
"Twenty-eight years."
The room fell silent.
Twenty-eight.
Not seventeen.
Not ten.
Twenty-eight years.
Nearly three decades.
I felt sick.
Because suddenly I understood why Cassian had smiled.
Why he'd been so confident.
Why he'd expected Kairo to recognize the implication immediately.
The fifth traitor wasn't dangerous because of what he'd done.
He was dangerous because of who he was.
Because if Marcus could betray them—
then nobody felt completely safe anymore.
Nobody.
The office door suddenly opened.
A servant rushed inside.
Pale.
Breathless.
Terrified.
And immediately, every instinct I had screamed warning.
"Kairo."
The servant's voice shook.
"What happened?" Kairo asked.
The servant swallowed hard.
Then delivered the words that shattered whatever certainty remained.
"Marcus is gone."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The servant looked ready to collapse.
"We searched the entire estate."
My heart pounded.
The room felt smaller.
Tighter.
Dangerous.
Then the servant spoke again.
And somehow—
the situation became even worse.
"He left a message."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because everyone already knew.
Whatever came next—
would change everything.