Sophia barely slept.
She lay awake in her hotel room long after midnight, staring at the ceiling.
The Council's last message remained in her mind. Excellent. Continue.
Two words. Simple. Cold.
She had received orders like that before.
During her intelligence years, she had learned not to question them.
A mission was a mission. You completed it.
You went home. You moved on.
But this was different.
She knew the people she was supposed to destroy. Not well. Not yet.
But enough.
She had seen the way Sebastian looked at Vivian.
She had heard the warmth in his voice when he spoke to her.
She had watched Vivian reach for his hand without thinking.
There was no weakness there.
No hidden resentment.
No unhappy marriage waiting to collapse.
The Council had built the entire operation around something that didn't exist.
Sophia turned onto her side.
Her phone rested on the bedside table.
She reached for it.
Then stopped.
