The basement seemed to shrink around them.No one spoke. The guard remained by the doorway with one hand pressed against his earpiece, his face drained of color as though he wished he'd misheard the report. Even the assassin had stopped laughing.Augustus broke the silence."Show me."The guard fumbled for the tablet at his belt and activated the estate's security feed. Every eye in the room shifted toward the glowing screen.For a moment, the image danced with static before settling into focus. Rain hammered the iron gates outside the Cole Estate, blurring the world beyond into shifting sheets of gray. Lightning flashed over the cliffs overlooking the sea.A lone figure stood beyond the gates.No convoy.No armed escort.No attempt to hide.Just a woman in a crimson coat that reached almost to her knees. One hand rested inside her pocket while the other held a black umbrella against the rain. She wasn't pacing or testing the fence. She wasn't demanding entry.She simply waited.Somet