Chapter 7

• I did not sleep much that night.
• My body lay still beneath the sheets, but my mind never slowed. Every piece of fabric, every contract signed, every encrypted message we had sent was now part of something larger than any of us. I had made my first move. I had let a whisper slip through the cracks they thought were sealed. Now, all I needed to do was watch the ripple spread.
• By the time the sun slipped across the horizon, I was already awake. I stood by the loft window, the city below stirring to life, unaware of the tremor I had set in motion. A cup of tea warmed my hands, but it was not comfort I felt. It was control.