Page 65 of Controlled Drift
As if summoned, Luca’s tablet chimed.
He glanced at it, then smiled in a way that was all teeth.
“Well,” he said, “that didn’t take long.”
He turned the screen so they could see.
A message.No sender.No flourish.
You have interfered for the last time.
Our patience is not infinite.
We will be correcting the imbalance.
Breaker is ours.
Silence hit the room.
Then Drew leaned back and said, “Wow.That’s rude.”
Victor scoffed.“They always think threatening the smartest man in the room is a power move.”
Luca lifted his eyes.“I feel flattered.”
Kael snorted.“They’re posturing.Testing.”
“They’ll come,” Ethan said quietly.
Luca shrugged.“Let them.”
The room settled into agreement—not bravado, not fear.Readiness.
“We’ll move tomorrow,” Kael said.“Back to Hawaii.Reset.”
Ethan’s stomach sank.
Niko, who’d been silent until now, shifted in his chair.
Ethan felt it before he saw it—the look.
That quiet, searching pause.
For one terrifying second, Ethan thought: This is it.
That this was where they parted.
That Black Tide went home, and he stayed behind with ghosts and a house too big for one man.
Niko stood.
Ethan’s chest tightened.
Niko crossed the room, stopped in front of him, and held out his hand.
“Can we talk?”Niko said simply.No performance.No doubt.
Ethan stared at the hand.
