The trap was set.
Cynthia sat in the dim glow of her workstation, eyes locked onto the encrypted data stream scrolling across her screen. Every keystroke, every signal, was a carefully orchestrated deception. They weren't just watching the mole anymore—they were leading them.
Lena's voice crackled in through Cynthia's earpiece. "They took the bait. Someone just accessed the dummy files."
From the security hub, Prometheus confirmed, "I see it. The signal is bouncing through the same relay as before. We've got them."
Marla stood near the doorway, arms crossed. "Not yet. We don't just want the puppet—we want the hand pulling the strings."
Cynthia inhaled sharply. "Then let's push them."
She typed a command, feeding false schematics into the stream. It was a subtle move, designed to make the intruder linger just a little longer.
Minutes passed.
Then—
Lena's voice was barely above a whisper. "They're trying to breach deeper."
Marla's expression darkened. "Desperate."
Prometheus was already moving. "I'm heading to the server room. If they're in the building, we're ending this now."
Cynthia's heart pounded. "Go. We'll lock down from here."
The tension was suffocating as the seconds stretched. The data flow intensified, the enemy pushing harder, unaware they were already ensnared.
Then—one final keystroke.
A trace. A location.
Cynthia's screen lit up with the result. Her breath caught.
No. It couldn't be.
A name. A face. Someone inside their circle.
The mole had never been in the shadows.
They had been standing beside them all along.