Chapter 101

The clock on Camille's office wall

ticked past eleven. Most of Kane Industries had emptied hours ago, but Camille, couldn't rest, not with Victoria's revelations about Herod Preston still echoing in her mind.

A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts.

"Come in," she called.

Hannah Zhao, the Phoenix Grid's chief engineer, entered clutching a stack of rolled blueprints. Her normally neat appearance had frayed, hair escaping its bun, dark circles under her eyes.

"Ms. Kane, I'm sorry to bother you so late, but..." Hannah hesitated.

Camille motioned to the chair across from her desk. "It's fine. What's wrong?"

Hannah sat, placing the blueprints between them. "I've been going over these since the groundbreaking ceremony.

She unrolled the top sheet. "Something feels... off."

"Off how?"

"After finding those modifications to the safety protocols last week, I started comparing

every version of the blueprints."

She pointed to a section showing the Grid's main junction box. "This is what I designed originally," Hannah said, then unrolled a second blueprint. "And this is what's currently on file for construction." To Camille's untrained eye, they looked identical.

"What am I missing?" she asked.

Hannah retrieved a magnifying glass. "Look at the temperature sensors here, here, and here. The specifications are off by tiny increments. Half a millimeter in placement. Two degrees in the trigger threshold. A Camille examined the areas Hannah indicated. "These are very small changes."

"Individually, yes. But collectively? These modifications would allow the junction boxes to overheat without triggering the emergency shutdown protocols. The system would continue operating as if everything we

"How dangerous?"

Hannah met her eyes directly. "Catastrophic failure. Potential explosions at multiple sites. Massive power outages. And the modifications would make it look like design flaws, like Kane Industries had built an inh Camille sat back, the implications hitting her. This wasn't just sabotage, it was

character assassination.

"When did you first notice these discrepancies?" Camille asked.

"I caught some before the groundbreaking, the ones I showed you and Mr. Pierce last week. We fixed those. But these are different. More subtle. It's like someone went through twice, making different kinds of o Or two different people made changes," Camille murmured, thinking of Rose and Herod.

"Maybe." Hannah looked uneasy. "What I can't figure out

how anyone got access. Our system requires multiple authorizations, biometric verification...."

Chapter 101

"Someone on the inside." Camille stood abruptly. "Keep this between us for now. I'm calling Mr. Pierce, and then we're going through every blueprint. Every specification."

"That could take all night," Hannah said.

nodded grimly. "Then

****

one in the morning, Camille's office had transformed. Blueprints covered every surface,vher desk, the conference table, even sections of the floor. Hannah had sketched diagrams on the glass wall

a focused intensity. He now

the floor,

to her tally. "All made

that would affect

it to fail spectacularly. After we'd declared it

rubbed her eyes. "After

"They focus on the intersection points,

connects to the city's existing power grid. That's where feedback loops could create

"Maximum blame

who made these changes. Every modification should have a

"I can run a trace. But if they were smart enough to access the system..." "They were smart enough to cover their tracks,"

circuit diagrams. Their shoulders touched as they leaned

of

But Herod might. Or

"Someone on the construction crew. Someone

but at odd hours. When the primary users

turned her

AM. 3:47 AM. No one from the engineering

was here."

"Stolen credentials," Alexander suggested.

But look at this entry. The biometric scan registered as Louis Brown, one of our senior electricians. At 4: 30 AM on a Sunday." "Could someone have faked his biometrics?"

Chapter 101

shook her head. "Not easily. Our system uses multiple validation points, fingerprint, retinal scan,

is involved, or someone forced him to provide access." "Either way, we need to

Camille placed her hand over his. "If he is working with Rose

Alexander finished. "But we

remain in

create a new set

correct specifications. Upload them

flagging

work?" Camille

procedure

one would question it."

Camille said. "But keep

to watch Walsh

Rose

to check every other system. If they compromised the blueprints, what else

the work of someone with both technical knowledge and acces By three in the morning, Hannah had uploaded corrected

to avoid

at the glass wall covered

just tried to destroy the Grid, she'd tried to destroy Camille's reputation, her future, possibly her freedom if the failures had been blamed on "We should

left, Camille collapsed onto her office sofa. The weight of everything,

blueprint sabotage, the knowledge that someone inside Kane

caught it in time. The Grid is

Rose and

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