Chapter 56: The Unraveling
The silence in the intelligence hub stretched, thin and brittle, after Kael's declaration. The hum of the servers seemed to amplify, a chorus of unseen witnesses to the fracture between Alpha and Beta. Ronan stood frozen in the doorway, his face a palimpsest of emotions—shock, betrayal, and a dawning, cold fury. Finn looked like he wished the floor would swallow him whole, his gaze fixed on his screens. Lyra was the only one who moved, stepping subtly closer to Kael's side, a silent show of solidarity.
"A spy," Ronan repeated, the word flat, devoid of its usual resonance. He took a single step into the room, his eyes locked on Kael. "You believe I am a spy for the Northern Clans." It wasn't a question. It was an indictment.
"I believe the evidence does not lie," Kael countered, his voice dangerously calm. He gestured to the holodisplay, where the red line of the traitor's path still glowed. "A key tied to your identity was used. Explain that."
