The black photograph remained on the war table.Nobody touched it.Nobody spoke.
The words written across the back seemed to hang in the room like a threat.
WELCOME BACK, LITTLE HEIR.
Aria stared at it for several seconds.
Then she slowly turned toward Noah.
"How long?"
Noah understood immediately.
"How long has someone been watching this estate?"
"Exactly."
He picked up the photograph and examined it carefully.
"The angle is from outside the eastern garden."
Marco's expression hardened.
"That area is guarded."
"Which means whoever took this picture either avoided the guards..."
Noah paused.
"...or someone let them through."
Silence.
Aria looked around the room.Her mentors.
The guards outside.
For a moment, Adrian's warning returned to her.The man closest to you but she pushed the thought away.She couldn't allow fear to become the enemy's weapon.
"Nobody leaves this room," she said.
Everyone looked at her.
Rafael raised an eyebrow.
"You're giving orders now?"
