Two days later Adrian called.
His voice sounded different.
Tighter.
"What happened?"
Silence.
Then:
"Council member Harris died last night."
My stomach dropped.
"How?"
"Officially heart attack."
Pause.
"Unofficially?"
"Unknown."
Then he said something worse.
"He was your strongest supporter."
That changed everything.
Because now I had lost protection.
And gained danger.
A message arrived that same night.
No sender.
Support can disappear anytime. Stand alone.
My hands went cold.
This wasn't coincidence.
This was pressure.
Psychological warfare.
Someone was removing my safety.
Testing independence.
That meant only one thing:
The real enemy had entered the game.
I stopped reacting.
I stopped defending.
I started planning long term.
Instead of fixing damage…
I started controlling exposure.
Less information sharing.
Layered approvals.
Tighter circles.
Adrian noticed.
"You're thinking differently."
"I'm thinking like someone who expects war."
He nodded slightly.
"Good."
Because survival mindset wins battles.
But strategy mindset wins wars.
And I was done just surviving.