The silence that followed the call cutting off did not last, and it did not need to, because the timer on the screen continued to count down with cold precision, each second falling away in a way that made everything else inside the room feel distant and irrelevant.
Sebastian did not speak immediately, but the stillness in him was not hesitation but calculation, his eyes fixed on the timer for only a brief moment before shifting back to the screens as he scanned them again, faster this time, sharper, forcing every detail into alignment. The mansion feed remained active, still running, still watching, and that alone told him this was no longer just a threat waiting to happen but something already in motion and unfolding faster than anyone else in the room could fully grasp.
