Chapter 10 - The Fracture
I confronted Daniel that evening over a dinner that tasted like ash.
I didn't lead with accusations; I led with the truth.
"I found the data center, Daniel," I said, my voice eerily steady.
He didn't look up from his meal.
He just kept cutting his steak, the knife scraping against the porcelain plate.
"It’s for the best, Claire," he finally replied.
"You're not keeping us safe," I said, standing up.
"You're making us targets."
"Targets for whom?" he asked, finally looking at me.
"The people who were like us, before we decided to own the net?"
He stood up, towering over the table.
"There is no 'us' anymore, is there?"
"You've been playing a separate game for months."
"I've been playing the game you were too afraid to master."
The fracture was complete.
We were living in the same house, but we were miles apart.
I realized that night that I couldn't keep living in the shadow of his ambition.
I needed an exit, but in a world where Daniel owned the debt, where could I go?
I began to plan, moving through our house like a ghost.
Every day, I gathered small bits of information, piecing together a way out.
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I was no longer the woman who begged for peace.
I was the woman who had learned how to dismantle a system.
