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

intensity.

floor,

distinct modifications," Hannah announced, adding another mark to her

systems," Alexander added. "Nothing that would

it to fail spectacularly. After we'd declared it

eyes. "After people started relying

picked up another blueprint. "They focus

connects to the city's existing power grid. That's

said. "Maximum blame

identify who made

But if they were smart enough to access

joined Alexander, examining the circuit diagrams. Their shoulders touched as they leaned over the same document. She

think Rose understands any of

"Not likely. But Herod might. Or they've hired

realized. "Someone on the construction crew.

Hannah interrupted. "The system logs show blueprint access from authorized terminals, but at odd hours. When the primary users

turned her

timestamps 2:14 AM. 3:47 AM. No

was here."

"Stolen credentials," Alexander suggested.

registered as Louis Brown, one of our senior electricians. At 4: 30 AM on a Sunday." "Could someone

Chapter 101

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

we're onto them," Alexander finished. "But we also

blueprints remain in the

between them. "I can create

Upload

rather than flagging the current

work?"

"It's standard procedure

one would question it."

said. "But keep the

Walsh without alerting him. If he's their inside man, he

to Rose and

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

and implementation schedules. The sabotage was comprehensive, clearly the work of someone with both technical knowledge and acces By three in the morning, Hannah had uploaded corrected blueprints. Alexander had arranged surveillance on

resources to avoid

the glass wall covered in

future, possibly her

onto her office sofa. The weight

the knowledge that someone inside Kane Industries had betrayed

caught it in time. The Grid is safe

Camille said. "But Rose and Herod won't

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