Marius Arass had not slept in two days.
The manor's sub-basement had been sealed. Every ward had been recalibrated, every entry point reinforced, every agent in the capital recalled for a full security review. The household operated under a lockdown so severe that even the servants ...those few who were trusted enough to remain .moved through the corridors in fearful silence, sensing without being told that something catastrophic had occurred.
In his private study, Marius sat surrounded by the debris of frantic investigation. Notes covered every surface. Maps were pinned to the walls. The communication bowl that connected him to the network's outer agents glowed with the residue of a dozen urgent transmissions sent and received over the past forty-eight hours.
The stone was gone.
