ShadowBorne

Chapter Eight

The mansion felt heavier that evening. 

Shadows stretched long across the halls, and the faint hum of the security system seemed louder than usual. I moved slowly, letting Marcus’s men believe I was tired, compliant and almost invisible.

“Elias,” Eden’s voice broke the silence. He was leaning against the wall near the stairwell, arms crossed. “Got a minute?”

I nodded, approaching. “Sure. What’s up?”

He gestured toward the map room. “I was just going over some of the routes and I wanted your opinion on timing.”

I followed him, careful to keep my pace casual. “Timing?” I asked, leaning over the table. “Do you mean the entry or the exit?”

He shrugged, scanning the pins. “Entry mostly. Have you ever thought about air traffic control? What happens if they delay the plane?”

I frowned slightly, keeping it subtle. “Then what?”

“Then we’d be stuck waiting, right? Risk exposure. But Marcus… he doesn’t really answer questions like that.”

I tilted my head, letting my curiosity look innocent. “Do you think he’s planning for it?”

Eden laughed softly. “I don’t know. Probably. Or maybe he just assumes nothing will go wrong.”

I nodded. “Assume nothing...” My voice was calm, like I was in deep thoughts. But I wasn't. We stayed silent for a moment, eyes on the map. Every pin, every line, every route I’d memorized last night was being replayed in my head.

“You ever think about fallback positions?” I asked casually. “If Marcus… disappears for a second?”

His eyebrows shot up. “You mean… if he goes dark?”

“Yeah. Who’s in charge then?”

He hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. “Well… usually Marcus has that covered, but… I guess someone has to pick up. He doesn’t talk about it much.”

“Interesting,” I murmured, not giving anything away.

He nodded, frowning, then left without another word. I let him go, letting the seed I planted drift silently in his mind.

Later, I found Nathan in the comms room. He was adjusting frequencies, wires snaking across the desk.

“You’re quiet today,” I said, perching on the edge of a chair.

By the time I left him and the other guys, my notebook was full in my head, though nothing I had said suggested I was building a map. Every question I asked sounded like curiosity and casual interest, nothing strategic. And yet… I saw cracks. Small inconsistencies. The same route was described differently by two men. Timing that didn’t line up with the patrol rotations and gaps in Marcus’s own explanations.

I kept it all to myself. Never a hint of suspicion or a trace of intention showed.  Just listening. 

“Elias,” Marcus appeared suddenly in the hallway.  “What are you doing wandering around? Aren’t you supposed to be preparing?”

I looked up slowly, hands in my pockets. “Just… reviewing the layout again.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Alone?”

“Yes. I need to focus,” I said smoothly. “It’s easier that way.”

Marcus studied me for a long second, then exhaled through his nose. “Fine. Just… make sure you don’t waste time.”

He walked off, leaving me alone with the maps. My pulse quickened slightly. That was the moment. The small window he’d given me. I pulled out a chair, leaned over the maps, and let my eyes trace every line, every pin and every exit. I memorized routes, but more than that, I memorized reactions. 

Hours passed in silence. Every sound from the mansion was cataloged. Each small noise had its place in the map I was building in my mind. 

The fractures were subtle, almost invisible, but they were there. And I had all the time I needed to let them grow.

…………

Rain hammered against the windows outside, each drop a steady drum that matched the beat of my pulse. I stood near the table, marker still in my hand, papers spread out like a battlefield. The lamp overhead cast hard shadows, turning the room into angles and edges. Nothing here was soft. Nothing was accidental.

I traced one route with my finger, slow enough to feel every bend and every choke point. 

Behind me, someone shifted. The floor creaked beneath his weight and I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. I’d learned a long time ago how to read men without looking at them. His breathing was steady. It felt like the calm that comes from believing the outcome is already decided.

“So,” he said, casually, like we were discussing weather. “You see it now.”

I capped the marker and set it down carefully, aligning it with the edge of the table. Small details mattered. They always had. “I see it.”

He stepped closer. His presence filled the space behind me, confident, familiar and opposing. 

“You know that…”

“Not today, please.”I cut him in the middle of his pep talk. “There's nothing you're about to say that you haven't said before now. I need to grab some personal things.”

The silence sharpened and Marcus frowned. “Now?”

“Yes.”

“But we’re finalizing details.”

“I won’t be long.”

His jaw tightened slightly but I saw it. He didn’t like unpredictability. He tolerated it only when it served him.

“We don’t need delays, Elias.”

I finally turned to face him. He looked the same as he always had, tailored jacket, relaxed posture and eyes that measured value the way other men measured distance. “I’m not delaying anything.”

“You don’t leave before a job like this.”

I held his gaze and let the moment stretch until it became uncomfortable. Let him feel the imbalance shift, just slightly. “I do.”

Something flickered in his eyes. He’d always mistaken access for control.

“This is my house and I make the rules. If you walk out now,” he said carefully, “you don’t need to talk about walking back in.”

I shrugged, easy. “Then I won’t walk back in.”

His voice sharpened. “You think this is a game?”

I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “Of course it is not and even if it was, you’re the one who taught me not to play fair.”