The hallway didn’t feel the same anymore.Eli couldn’t have explained exactly what had changed—but something had.Maybe it was the weight of the numbers sitting in the back of his mind. Maybe it was the way everything that had once felt structured now seemed… slightly off balance.Or maybe—It was the fact that for the first time in a long time, he didn’t have a clear move.His pace didn’t slow, but his thoughts did. Not in hesitation—just in precision. Every step forward felt calculated, even if the outcome wasn’t.By the time he stepped outside the hospital, the air hit differently. Cooler. Sharper.Real.His phone buzzed again.This time, he didn’t hesitate to pull it out.Karim.Eli answered immediately.“Talk.”Karim didn’t waste time. “It’s worse than it looked.”Eli’s gaze lifted slightly, scanning the quiet stretch of the hospital driveway, though he wasn’t really seeing it.“How bad?”There was a brief pause on the other end.Then—“Seventeen percent drop in the first hour af

Eli didn’t stay by the window for long after that.“Home…”The word still sat somewhere in his chest, not quite settling, not quite leaving either.For a moment, it almost felt unfamiliar.Not because he didn’t understand it—But because of what it now meant.Not a place. Not safety.Something else entirely.Something that had been waiting for him long before he even knew it existed.He picked up his phone again.This time, there was no pause.No second-guessing.He called Carlos.The line connected almost immediately.“Sir.”Eli didn’t ease into it.“I’m going to accept it.”There was a brief silence on the other end.It wasn't confusion. Nor was it shock.Just… processing.“The Circle?” Carlos asked quietly.“Yes.”Another pause.Longer this time.Then— “What’s your plan?”Eli’s gaze shifted slightly, unfocused again, but his voice remained steady.“I’m going in.”Carlos exhaled softly. “That part was obvious.”Eli almost smirked.Almost.“I’ll play along,” he continued. “Long enoug

The meeting didn’t end abruptly.Eli wasn't expecting it to.Not with everything that was being said, analyzed, questioned, repeated and rephrased constantly.Definitely not something as the news of replacing world power.It slowed.Gradually.Like a machine powering down after running at full capacity.Voices that had once carried weight and certainty became quieter, more measured. Conversations that had been sharp and direct softened into brief exchanges, unfinished sentences, silent acknowledgments.No one announced the end.No one needed to.It just… happened.Chairs shifted.It wasn’t loud. Nor was it careless.Just enough to signal movement… Like they were still trying to maintain the stillness before the beginning of the meeting.One by one—They stood.Masks remained in place.Voices faded. Presence dissolved.And just like that—The Twelve began to leave.Eli didn’t move.He stayed exactly where he was.Still. Quiet.Watching without watching.Listening without listening.Bec

Eli knew one thing was certain – he wasn't going to open the chip.Not that night. Definitely not the next morning either.He knew exactly where he had kept it. Reminding himself constantly of the location so as not to misplace it by mistake.It sat in the left inner pocket of his jacket at first, then later he had moved it. Deliberately. Into the drawer beside his bed. Deciding his pocket wasn't really a safe place for the chip. He hadn't locked it though. It kept it in a way that suggested he was trying to hide it.It was just… placed.Like it didn’t matter. Like it wasn’t sitting there quietly, waiting.Because if Victor expected urgency—Eli wasn’t going to give it to him.If it was a test, then it went both ways.And if it wasn’t— Then waiting would still tell him something.Victor wasn’t patient when it came to outcomes. Calculated, yes. But not passive.So Eli stretched the silence.Just to see if it would stretch back.His mornings settled into something that looked like routi

Eli didn’t loosen his hold on her immediately.Didn’t rush to pull away like he usually would after saying something that felt too close to the truth. Didn't try to fill the silence that between them. This time— He simply kissed the top of her head drawing tiny circles on her back as he held her..Elara didn't try to pull away. Instead she leaned closer into him. Her fingers curling slightly into the fabric of his shirt, like she needed something to anchor herself to, something that proved he wasn’t about to disappear the second things got quiet again.Neither of them spoke. But it wasn’t avoidance.It was… adjustment. Like they were both relearning something they hadn’t realized they’d lost.After a while, Elara shifted slightly, her forehead resting against his chest.“You smell different,” she murmured.Eli let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh.“That’s a new one.”“I’m serious,” she said, pulling back just enough to look at him. “You used to smell like…” she pau