Diamant's POV
Three days.
That was all it took to restore order.
Not perfection.
Perfection no longer existed the moment the hotel collapsed.
But order...
Order could always be rebuilt.
The injured workers had received the best medical care available.
Their families had been compensated beyond what any contract required.
Construction around the site remained suspended while government investigators completed their inspections.
Public outrage had begun settling.
The media had already moved on to newer scandals.
Exactly as expected.
Crisis management wasn't about making people forget.
It was about giving them something else to remember.
I stood inside the temporary command office overlooking the ruined construction site.
The skeletal remains of steel and concrete still occupied the center of the district like an open wound.
Several structural engineers waited around the conference table.
Blueprints covered every available surface.
One of them adjusted his glasses before speaking.
"We've completed another analysis."
"And?"
"The original materials were flawless."
"I know."
"There were no defects."
"I know."
"No signs of construction negligence."
"I know."
The room fell silent.
Because that left only one possibility.
Someone had interfered.
One of the forensic specialists slid several photographs across the table.
"They were hidden beneath the western foundation supports."
I picked them up.
Small metallic fragments.
Precision-engineered.
Far too clean to belong inside reinforced concrete.
My eyes narrowed.
"These weren't part of the original design."
"No, sir."
Another investigator spoke.
"We also found traces of industrial cutting equipment on several load-bearing reinforcement bars."
Exactly as I'd suspected.
Not poor construction.
Sabotage.
Professional sabotage.
Someone hadn't merely wanted to damage the hotel.
They wanted it to collapse.
I placed the photographs back onto the table.
"What about surveillance?"
The project manager answered immediately.
"Most camera feeds were disabled for exactly nine minutes."
"Only nine?"
"Yes."
Efficient.
Very efficient.
Long enough to enter.
Long enough to leave.
Not long enough to attract attention.
The timing alone told me whoever planned this understood security systems.
Perhaps even better than some of my own personnel.
Another report arrived.
I skimmed through it.
"Material deliveries?"
"Verified."
"Employee records?"
"Verified."
"Visitor logs?"
"Nothing suspicious."
Nothing.
That irritated me more than finding evidence.
Professionals always left something behind.
Pride.
Impatience.
Carelessness.
This person...
Left almost nothing.
Almost.
I tapped one finger lightly against the conference table.
"Expand the investigation."
"Yes, sir."
"I want financial records."
"Already started."
"Communication logs."
"Underway."
"Every contractor."
"We're reviewing them."
I nodded once.
"Keep digging."
Everyone immediately returned to work.
Hours disappeared.
Phone calls.
Meetings.
Reports.
Authorizations.
By evening, most of the immediate crisis had been contained.
The investigation now belonged to specialists.
There was very little more I could personally contribute.
I walked onto the balcony outside the temporary office.
The city stretched beneath the fading sunset.
Traffic moved normally.
People laughed.
Restaurants filled with customers.
Life continued.
As if an entire building hadn't collapsed just days ago.
Funny.
The world rarely paused for anyone.
Not even people like me.
A cold breeze brushed past.
I slipped both hands into my pockets.
Something...
Was bothering me.
Not the investigation.
Not the sabotage.
Something else.
Something I couldn't name.
I frowned slightly.
No evidence.
No logic.
No reason.
Just...
An uncomfortable feeling settling somewhere beneath my ribs.
I hated instincts.
Mostly because mine were rarely wrong.
I closed my eyes briefly.
What was I missing?
The answer arrived without warning.
Noah.
My eyes opened immediately.
I hadn't spoken to him properly.
A few brief messages.
One short phone call interrupted twice by investigators.
Nothing else.
He had sounded...
Normal.
Hadn't he?
Or had I simply been too distracted to notice?
I replayed the conversation in my head.
His voice.
His pauses.
His choice of words.
No.
Something wasn't right.
I reached for my phone.
No missed calls.
No messages.
Nothing unusual.
Then why...
Why did this feeling refuse to disappear?
I stared toward the skyline.
The sensation only grew stronger.
Like invisible threads pulling relentlessly toward home.
Toward him.
I pressed one button on my phone.
My assistant answered almost instantly.
"Mr. Reed."
"Prepare the jet."
A brief pause.
"...Immediately?"
"Immediately."
"The investigation—"
"Will continue."
"Understood."
I ended the call.
Twenty minutes later, my convoy was already moving toward the airport.
The city lights blurred past outside the window.
Normally, I would have reviewed reports during the drive.
Tonight...
I couldn't concentrate.
Every document looked meaningless.
Every page blurred together.
Something kept dragging my thoughts back to Noah.
I remembered the way he'd looked before I left.
Quiet.
Trying to smile.
Standing at the front entrance while pretending everything was fine.
I should have stayed longer.
An unfamiliar thought.
Regret.
The private jet waited on the runway with its engines already running.
I boarded without slowing my pace.
The cabin lights dimmed as the aircraft taxied forward.
Outside the window, Country B disappeared beneath darkness.
I leaned back in my seat.
Closed my eyes.
Tried convincing myself I was overreacting.
Perhaps I simply missed him.
Perhaps exhaustion was clouding my judgment.
Perhaps...
No.
My eyes opened.
My instincts had protected me long before wealth ever had.
Long before power.
Long before Reed Enterprises.
They had never failed me.
I looked out into the endless night beyond the window.
"Am I overthinking this..."
Silence answered.
Then I shook my head once.
"...No."
"My gut tells me something's wrong."