Chapter 164: Triple Verification

But Nora could see his hand out of the corner of her eye — his right hand resting on the armrest, fingers slowly curling in, then opening, then curling in again.

The color of his knuckles went from normal to white and back again within three seconds.

He reached over and took the letter.

He read it for ten seconds.

A full ten seconds. Nora had been counting silently.

Todd's throat moved.

"Atlas —" he spoke, his voice no different from usual, but slower. "He wrote this letter to the Percy family. Asked the Percy family to return that personal seal to you."

He set the letter back on the table. His fingers were still resting on the edge of the paper, not letting go.

"He never told me about this."

Nora watched his hand.

She had dealt with Todd for so many years. This man had tighter control over his emotions than anyone she had ever met. He didn't lose his temper when he was angry, didn't furrow his brow when he was sad, and at most let out a short laugh when someone played him.

But right now, his fingertips were trembling.

Just barely. You wouldn't notice it at all unless you were sitting right next to him, less than two feet away, watching closely.

The trap Atlas had laid — went deeper than Todd had ever imagined.

Atlas had given a letter to John, left a painting in the hands of Julian, the patron of The Ashes, and kept a personal seal with Nora. Three things, scattered among three unrelated people.

And Todd had been kept outside of it all, from beginning to end.

"You've had this letter for three years." Nora turned to Oliver. "Why bring it out now?"

"Because I never knew who 'Arnault' was." Oliver's answer was straightforward. "No full name in the letter, no contact information. My father didn't leave any additional notes before he passed. Until a month ago — when you showed up."

A month ago. The first time Nora and Oliver had made formal contact.

"You're sure 'Nory' is me?"

"Atlas's closest disciple. Holder of the 'Lotus Rain' personal seal. Called Nory by her family." Oliver picked up his coffee cup and took a small sip. "I ran three separate verifications."

Nora drew in a breath, held it in her chest for two seconds, then let it out.

"Lotus Rain" — the personal seal from last night's viewing. Atlas had left the seal with her and the painting with Julian. Todd had mentioned before that the verification required two people — one from the Thorne family, and one who is not.

She had always assumed the one who wasn't from the Thorne family was Julian.

But what if it was Oliver?

Atlas had written to the Percy family, specifically asking them to return the personal seal to her. The seal and the painting — both pieces had to come together to complete the verification. And the other condition for verification was that someone outside the Thorne family had to be present.

Nora set the letter back on the table. Atlas — her eldest brother, the heir to the Old Boss's branch within Abyss. He and Todd shared no blood, but inside Abyss, they were brothers.

Todd stared at the handwriting on the letter and was quiet for a long time.

"Atlas... came to see me before he left." His voice was low. "In the study at the old house. He didn't know I was at The Ashes, but he knew I was alive. He poured me a cup of coffee and said, 'As long as you're alive, that's enough.'"

That was the last time Todd ever saw Atlas.

A month later, Atlas was dead.

"Atlas didn't leave that painting with Julian because he trusted Julian." As Nora said it out loud, her mind was racing to put the pieces together. "He left it there because he knew that someday, someone — someone from the Percy family — would come to Julian with the personal seal to collect the painting."

Oliver set down his coffee cup. The bottom touched the coaster with the faintest sound.

He didn't respond. But he didn't deny it either.

Wyatt's knock came at exactly that moment.

Three knocks. The rhythm was tight and urgent. Not like him at all.

Oliver tilted his head slightly. "Come in."

Wyatt pushed the door open, holding a tablet with the screen facing outward.

"Mr. Percy, the security feed from outside Harmony Private Clinic in the north of the city — just pulled this."

He placed the tablet on the table.

The footage was live. At the front entrance of the clinic, two people were talking on the steps. One was Calla, in a beige trench coat. The other was a man, lean, wearing a baseball cap pulled low, his face turned so only his chin and the corner of his mouth were visible.

Wyatt added, "Body recognition is done. Ninety-seven percent match. It's Chase."

Nora's back straightened by an inch.

Chase — the third son of the Gray family. Calla's fiancé. Ian's handler. Robbie's boss.

He was in this city.

In the footage, Chase reached into his pocket and handed Calla an envelope. She took it, glanced inside, then tucked it into her inner coat pocket. In the fraction of a second the envelope passed across the frame, its lower left corner caught the light — and Nora caught a glimpse of a logo out of the corner of her eye.

She pulled the tablet toward her and pinched to zoom in on that corner.

The logo was blurry, but she recognized the shape.

The shortwave transmitter she had pulled from inside Ian's pillow in the early hours of yesterday morning — on the back of its casing, next to the batch code, there had been a supplier mark.

The same logo.

"Ian's equipment came from Chase." Nora pushed the tablet back.

Todd leaned forward and glanced at the screen. Said nothing.

Oliver stood up and walked to the window.

He stood with his back to them for a few seconds. Then he turned around.

"Chase didn't come for Calla."

His gaze dropped to the table between Nora and Todd, to the two documents lying side by side, to the letter.

"He came for me. The Gray family has had their eyes on three of the Percy Group's shipping routes in Valeria for two years now. Calla getting close to me was the first move — testing the water, feeling things out, watching how I'd react."

He paused.

"Chase showing up in person means the second move is starting."

Nora pressed her thumb against her knee.

Something suddenly came back to her.

"Oliver Percy."

She used his full name. Not "Mr. Percy." Not "you."

Oliver's gaze shifted to her.

"Last night you told me the dress was non-refundable." Nora's voice was steady and even. "That wasn't offhand. You knew I'd be here today. You needed me to be sitting here in this dress."

The sitting room went quiet for a moment.

Todd's fingers tapped once on the armrest, lightly, without a word — but Nora could feel him listening.

Oliver didn't deny it.

"On the inside of the collar, this dress has the Percy Group's private mark stitched in." Nora looked down and ran her fingers along the seam at the neckline. She had noticed it this morning when she put it on and hadn't said anything. "Showing up in a custom piece from your family, inside your private sitting room — everyone who's come and gone through this building today will have drawn the same conclusion without being told —"

She paused.

"That I'm yours."

Todd's fingers stopped tapping.

Oliver walked back to the table but didn't sit. He stood at the short end, hands at his sides, in a position where he could see both Nora and Todd at the same time.

"Chase is in this city. His next move will be to approach me directly. When that happens, he'll see you standing next to me in this dress."

His tone was flat.

"That's exactly what I need him to see."