The lab was silent except for the low hum of the security monitors. Cynthia stared at the screen, watching the transmission logs that Marcus had uncovered. The patterns were too precise, too calculated. Someone had been orchestrating this from the beginning.
"Still nothing," Lena muttered, rubbing her temple. "Whoever's behind this knows how to cover their tracks."
Cynthia sighed. "Then we find a way around it."
Before Lena could respond, the lab doors hissed open. Dr. Adrian stepped in, his presence commanding yet unreadable. His white coat was pristine as always, his hands clasped behind his back.
"You look troubled," he observed, his voice smooth as he approached.
Cynthia studied him carefully. Something about Dr. Adrian had always felt... detached. He was a genius in his field, but his motivations remained a mystery.
"Troubled doesn't begin to cover it," Prometheus muttered from across the room.
Dr. Adrian glanced at the monitors. "I heard about the breach. Have you determined the culprit?"
"Not yet," Cynthia replied cautiously. "But we're close."
A flicker of something—was it amusement?—passed through Dr. Adrian's expression. "Close is not the same as certain."
Lena shifted uncomfortably. "Do you know something we don't, Doctor?"
Dr. Adrian chuckled softly. "If I did, I'd have already told you."
But Cynthia wasn't convinced. There was a reason Dr. Adrian had remained unscathed throughout this entire ordeal. A reason he always seemed one step ahead.
Marcus cleared his throat, pulling up another screen. "Actually, there's something odd. The transmission logs… they show a unique encryption pattern that only high-level personnel would have access to."
Cynthia's stomach tightened. "How high-level?"
Marcus hesitated, then turned to Dr. Adrian. "Your level."
Silence fell over the lab.
Dr. Adrian's expression remained unreadable. "You suspect me?"
"No one is above suspicion," Cynthia said carefully.
For the first time, a shadow of a smile played on Dr. Adrian's lips. "Then I suggest you dig deeper. But be careful—sometimes, the truth is not what you expect it to be."
With that, he turned and walked out, leaving them in a tense, uncertain silence.
Cynthia exhaled, her mind racing. Dr. Adrian wasn't just a bystander in all this. He was connected.
The only question was—how deep did his role go?