The Harrington Estate did not just sit on the hill. It dominated it.

The grand dining room was a spectacular display of wealth and corruption. Fifty of the most powerful men and women in the country sat around a massive mahogany table, dining on truffles and caviar.

Lyra, dressed in her starched uniform, poured wine with mechanical precision. Her eyes darted to the AV booth overlooking the room, where Julian was supposed to be initiating the hack.

Silas stood at the head of the table, tapping his glass with a silver spoon.

"My friends," Silas began, his voice booming with authority. "This year has been our most profitable yet. And tonight, I am thrilled to unveil the future of Montgomery Enterprises."

He clicked the remote in his hand, expecting a graph of projected earnings to appear on the massive screen behind him.

The screen flickered. But it wasn't the master ledger that appeared.

It was a live video feed of Lyra, captured from the security cameras in the hallway just moments before. But the audio playing over the speakers wasn't from the hallway. It was an edited recording of Lyra's voice, spliced together from their private conversations.

"I want the Montgomery fortune... Silas is a monster... I stole the ledger... I'm going to ruin him."

The dining room erupted into chaos. Silas dropped his remote, his face turning an apocalyptic shade of purple. He stared directly at Lyra, who was standing frozen near the wine cart.

Julian stepped out of the AV booth, looking down at the room with an expression of manufactured horror.

"Father!" Julian shouted, rushing down the stairs. "It's the maid! I caught her trying to access the mainframe! She's a corporate spy! She stole the ledger!"

The trap snapped shut. Julian had played her perfectly. He had framed her in front of the entire board, cementing his loyalty to his father while simultaneously taking possession of the ledger to use for his own blackmail later.

"Guards!" Silas roared. "Take her! Break her legs if you have to, but find out who she works for!"

Four heavily armed security guards lunged toward Lyra.

But Lyra didn't panic. She didn't run. She looked up at Julian, who was smiling triumphantly beside his father, and she smiled back. It was a terrifying, feral smile that made the blood freeze in Julian's veins.