Chapter 2 - Whispers in the Glass
An hour later, inside a secure basement facility beneath the Loop, Sebastian’s head of security, Marcus Vance, analyzed the image metadata Rosa had provided. Marcus was a former federal counter-surveillance expert whose face rarely betrayed emotion, but the readouts on his monitor were making his jaw set tight.
"The signals aren't routing locally," Marcus explained, pointing to a cascading list of encrypted IP addresses bouncing through servers in Geneva and Zurich. "Whoever installed these wasn't just peeping. They are harvesting live feeds, decrypting audio, and streaming it to a private external server. Miss Martinez, your instincts were flawless. If you had touched or attempted to remove even one of those housings, an automated silent alarm would have wiped the local storage remotely."
"Who is paying for something like that?" Rosa asked, sitting stiffly on a steel chair, clutching a paper cup of warm coffee.
Sebastian paced behind her, his hands jammed into his pockets. "It’s not about me," he said softly, a dark realization dawning on him. "Victoria’s family line... the Kline Foundation isn't just a charity. Her father sits on the board of three major defense contractors. If someone has leverage over Victoria—or captures private moments inside my home to manufacture leverage—they control billions in public policy."
Suddenly, Sebastian’s encrypted cell phone buzzed against the table. The screen displayed an unlisted number from a Manhattan area code. He tapped speakerphone.
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"Harlow," a synthesized, metallic voice spoke through the speaker. "We see you left the office early today. We also see your little janitor friend didn't finish vacuuming the master rug. You have twenty-four hours to sign the release papers for the Hudson Yards acquisition, or Victoria's private audio recordings become public domain across every major syndicate network in North America."
The call disconnected instantly. Silence descended upon the room like lead.
