Chapter 40 The Traitor

Chapter 40 The Traitor
The knock on Thad’s study door comes just after midnight.
We’ve been sitting together in comfortable silence for the past hour. Thad is reviewing documents at his desk while I curl up in the armchair by the fireplace with a book about vampire history. It’s become something of a routine for us, these quiet evenings. A small pocket of normalcy in a world that’s anything but.
“Enter,” Thad calls without looking up.
The door opens to reveal Gabriel, the soft-spoken vampire I met briefly at the dinner party weeks ago. He runs Thad’s financial operations, though I’ve rarely seen him since that night. He keeps to himself mostly, buried in spreadsheets and investment portfolios in some corner of the mansion I’ve never visited.
Tonight, though, something is different. His usual calm demeanor is gone, and there’s a tightness around his mouth and eyes in its place.
Gabriel glances at me, then back at Thad. “Should I wait until—”
“She stays.” Thad’s voice leaves no room for argument. “Thelma is one of us now. Whatever you have to say, she can hear it.”
Gabriel nods once and moves further into the room. He’s tall and thin, with close-cropped grey hair and wire-rimmed glasses that seem almost comical on a vampire. But there’s nothing comical about the look on his face right now.
“I’ve been monitoring our communications channels for the past several weeks,” he begins. “Financial transactions, encrypted messages, the usual. Looking for any irregularities that might indicate outside interference.”
“And you found something.”
“I found several things.” Gabriel pulls a folded piece of paper from his jacket and hands it to Thad. “Someone has been sending information about the compound to external parties. Details about our security and the layout of the mansion.”
Thad unfolds the paper and reads over it with a scowl. “Who received this?”
“I’m still working on that. The messages were routed through multiple servers and bounced across different countries. Whoever did this knew what they were doing.”
I set down my book and sit up straighter. “What kind of information are we talking about?”
Gabriel turns to look at me for a fraction of a second before his eyes drop. “Information about you. Your feeding schedule. Your location within the mansion. Which rooms you frequent and when. Someone has been tracking your movements and reporting them to parties outside the clan.”
I suck in a breath and cover my mouth Someone has been watching me, documenting my every move, and selling that information to people who almost certainly don’t have my best interests at heart.
“The Primigenii?” I ask.
“Possibly. Or the Obsidian Court. Or any number of other factions who might want to get their hands on Thad’s mate.” Gabriel shakes his head. “Without knowing who received the messages, I can’t say for certain.”
Thad stands so abruptly that his chair grates against the floor. He crosses to the window and stares out at the darkened grounds with his shoulders rigid beneath his shirt.
“How long has this been going on?”
“At least two weeks. Possibly longer.” Gabriel adjusts his glasses. “I only discovered it because of a discrepancy in our server logs. Whoever is responsible covered their tracks well.”
“But not well enough.”
“No. Not well enough.”
I stand and walk to Thad’s side. “Do we know who it is?”
“Not yet.” He doesn’t look at me. His focus remains fixed on the window, on the night beyond. “But we will.”
“The leak has to be coming from inside the mansion,” Gabriel continues. “The information is too specific, too detailed to be gathered from outside surveillance. Someone with access to our internal systems is passing it along.”
“How many people have that kind of access?” I ask.
“A handful. Security personnel. Senior staff. A few trusted members of the inner circle.” Gabriel’s mouth presses into a thin line. “I’ve already started narrowing down the list, but it will take time.”
“Time we may not have.” Thad finally turns away from the window and faces us. The look in his eyes makes something twist in my gut. I’ve seen him angry before, seen him violent and possessive and barely in control. But this is different.
This is the face of a man who has spent five hundred years learning how to destroy his enemies.
“Lock down the compound,” Thad orders. “No one enters or leaves without my explicit permission. All communications go through you personally. I want every message screened, every phone call monitored.”
Gabriel nods. “And the staff?”
“Confined to quarters until further notice. Anyone who protests goes to the cells.”
“Thad.” I touch his arm, and he looks down at me. “What about the people who aren’t involved? The ones who haven’t done anything wrong?”
“They’ll be inconvenienced. That’s unfortunate but necessary. I won’t risk your safety because I’m worried about hurting someone’s feelings.”
“This isn’t about feelings. This is about treating people fairly.”
“This is about finding a traitor before they get you killed.” He covers my hand with his own. “I know it seems harsh. But until we know who’s responsible, everyone is a suspect. Everyone.”
I want to argue, but I can see the fear beneath his anger. Someone in this house has been selling me out. Someone he trusted enough to let into his inner circle. That betrayal cuts deep, even if he’ll never admit it.
“What do you need from me?” I ask instead.
“Stay close. Don’t go anywhere alone.” He squeezes my hand. “And trust me to handle this.”
Trust. It’s a big ask, given everything that’s happened between us. But right now, standing in his study with Gabriel watching and a traitor lurking somewhere in the shadows, I don’t have much choice.
“Okay,” I agree. “But I want to be kept informed. No more secrets.”
“No more secrets,” he promises.
I hope he means it.