CHAPTER 026: PROXIMITY AND PRESSURE
"The building wasn't random."
Dominic looks up from his screen immediately.
It's past midnight, and the estate is quiet in the way that feels less like peace and more like held breath.
"Say that again," he says carefully.
I pull the property records back onto my secondary monitor. "When I registered Morriston Tech five years ago, I chose that building because the rent was low, the location was central, and I thought I was making a practical decision."
Dominic watches me closely but says nothing.
"But Voss Industries has owned it for thirty years," I continue. "Which means someone made sure I would find it. Made sure the rent stayed accessible. Made sure it looked like exactly the kind of place a woman rebuilding from nothing would choose."
The room goes very still.
"They positioned you," he says quietly.
"From the beginning."
I lean back in my chair slowly.
