The room remained silent long after the guard finished speaking.
A traitor.
The word seemed to linger in the air.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Impossible to ignore.
I looked from the guard to Selene, then finally to Kairo.
Neither of them appeared surprised by the possibility.
Concerned?
Yes.
Angry?
Definitely.
But surprised?
No.
And somehow, that made the situation feel even worse.
Because if people like Kairo had already considered the possibility of betrayal, then this conflict had been far more serious than I'd realized.
"Who?" Selene asked.
The guard shook his head immediately.
"We don't know yet."
Not a reassuring answer.
At all.
Kairo stepped toward the desk.
"Report everything."
The guard nodded.
"The eastern communications tower stopped responding approximately forty minutes ago."
His voice remained tense.
"When investigators arrived, the security systems had already been disabled."
The room grew colder.
"From the outside?" Selene asked.
"No."
Silence.
The guard swallowed.
"From the inside."
There it was.
Confirmation.
Not suspicion.
Not theory.
Fact.
Someone inside Kairo's network had helped the attack happen.
My stomach tightened.
I wasn't particularly experienced with political conflicts.
But even I understood how dangerous internal betrayal could be.
Enemies outside the walls were one thing.
Enemies already inside them?
Much worse.
The guard continued.
"Three supervisors are missing."
Kairo's eyes narrowed.
"Names."
The guard handed over a document.
Kairo scanned it quickly.
For the first time, genuine surprise flashed across his face.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
So did Selene.
"Kairo?"
His gaze remained fixed on the page.
Then he handed it over to Selene.
She read it.
And immediately cursed.
A very creative curse.
I blinked.
That definitely wasn't normal.
"Would someone like to explain?"
The siblings exchanged a look.
Not comforting.
Never comforting.
Finally, Selene answered.
"One of the missing supervisors has worked for our family for seventeen years."
The words hit hard.
Seventeen years.
That wasn't a recent recruit.
That wasn't a stranger.
That was someone trusted.
Someone established.
Someone who should have been loyal.
"...You're serious."
"Unfortunately."
I leaned back slowly.
The situation had somehow become worse.
Again.
Which was impressive in a terrible way.
The guard waited for further instructions.
Kairo's expression had become completely unreadable.
The calmness from earlier was gone.
Not replaced by anger.
Something colder.
More focused.
More dangerous.
"Lock down every communication center."
"Yes."
"Double security on all transport routes."
"Yes."
"Begin internal investigations immediately."
The guard nodded.
Then left.
The moment the door closed, silence returned.
Heavy silence.
The kind that made every thought feel louder.
I looked toward Kairo.
"...You know something."
A pause.
Then—
"Yes."
Of course.
I stood from my chair.
"What?"
Kairo didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at the report in his hand.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Connecting pieces.
Finally—
"The missing supervisor."
I waited.
"So?"
"He shouldn't have been there."
I frowned.
That made no sense.
"What does that mean?"
Selene answered this time.
"It wasn't his assignment."
Understanding slowly began forming.
The supervisor had no reason to be at the communications tower.
Yet somehow, he was there.
On the exact day of the attack.
Coincidence?
Not likely.
Then another realization struck me.
A much worse one.
"...Someone moved him there."
Silence.
Neither sibling corrected me.
My stomach dropped.
Because that changed everything.
The traitor wasn't necessarily acting alone.
Someone else could have arranged it.
Manipulated schedules.
Adjusted assignments.
Created opportunities.
The betrayal suddenly felt much larger than a single person.
And judging by the expressions in the room, Kairo and Selene had reached the same conclusion.
"This was planned."
"Yes," Kairo replied.
"Carefully."
The room fell quiet again.
Then I asked the question everyone was avoiding.
"How many people do you think are involved?"
No one answered immediately.
That alone was concerning.
Eventually, Selene sighed.
"More than one."
Not enough information.
But enough to be frightening.
A knock interrupted the silence.
Three sharp knocks.
Urgent.
Another messenger entered.
This one looked exhausted.
Sweat covered his forehead.
His breathing was uneven.
And before he even spoke, I knew the news would be bad.
"Kairo."
The messenger bowed quickly.
"We received reports from the northern district."
"Continue."
The messenger hesitated.
Then—
"Several family allies have withdrawn their support."
The room went silent.
Again.
I stared.
"How many?"
The messenger looked uncomfortable.
"Eight."
Eight.
Eight families.
Gone.
Just like that.
The atmosphere became suffocating.
Not because of the number itself.
Because of what it represented.
Momentum.
Cassian was gaining momentum.
And people were starting to notice.
The messenger handed over another report.
Then left.
Silence followed.
Long.
Uncomfortable.
Heavy.
Eventually, I spoke.
"...They're getting scared."
Selene looked at me.
"The families."
I continued.
"They think Cassian might actually win."
No one corrected me.
Because it was true.
Fear made people choose safety.
Fear made people abandon allies.
Fear made people hesitate.
And hesitation could destroy entire organizations.
The realization settled heavily in my chest.
Cassian wasn't winning because he was stronger.
He was winning because he was convincing people that victory was inevitable.
And people always wanted to stand with the winner.
The room remained quiet.
Then Kairo suddenly stood.
The movement immediately drew attention.
His expression was calm.
Composed.
Certain.
The same certainty that had carried him through every challenge since I'd met him.
"What are you doing?" Selene asked.
"Ending this."
The answer was simple.
Direct.
Dangerous.
I immediately straightened.
"...Ending this how?"
Kairo picked up his coat.
His eyes were cold.
Focused.
Determined.
The expression of someone who had finally reached a decision.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Selene sighed.
"You've already chosen."
"Yes."
Not surprising.
Kairo made decisions quickly.
The terrifying part was that he usually followed through.
No matter the consequences.
I stepped forward.
"Kairo."
His gaze shifted toward me.
"What exactly are you planning?"
The silence stretched.
Then—
"I'm going to meet him."
The room froze.
Every sound disappeared.
Even the air seemed to stop moving.
Selene immediately stood.
"No."
Kairo ignored her.
My heart dropped.
Because suddenly, I understood.
Cassian wanted a confrontation.
He wanted escalation.
He wanted Kairo to react.
And Kairo had just decided to give him exactly what he wanted.
"That's a terrible idea."
"It isn't."
"It absolutely is."
"No."
I pointed at him.
"You're walking directly into enemy territory."
"Yes."
"That's the opposite of a good plan."
"No."
I groaned.
Even now.
Even during a political crisis.
He was still impossible.
But beneath the frustration, fear began creeping into my chest.
Because this felt different.
Bigger.
More dangerous.
For weeks, Cassian had been operating from the shadows.
Manipulating events.
Creating chaos.
Moving pieces across the board.
Now?
The two sides were finally about to meet face-to-face.
And something told me that once that happened—
there would be no turning back.
Kairo moved toward the door.
Selene looked furious.
I looked terrified.
And neither of us managed to stop him.
Before leaving, he paused.
Just long enough to look at me.
The intensity of his gaze made my heartbeat stumble.
Then he spoke.
Quietly.
Certainly.
"I'll come back."
The words should have reassured me.
Instead, they filled me with dread.
Because those were exactly the kind of words people said before walking into danger.
The door opened.
Then closed behind him.
And for the first time since arriving in this world—
I had the terrifying feeling that the next move would change everything.