Seren caught wind.
One mistake. One pattern too clean.
She pulled Kael for a private session. Lira waited. Hours passed.
When he returned, something was different.
He didn't smile.
Didn't meet her eyes.
He said nothing.
But his hand trembled.
And Lira knew.
The fracture wasn't between them and the system.
It was inside them.
Already growing.
And Part I ended not with escape—but with doubt.