Chapter 2 - Adrian Investigates The Midnight System Login At Vale House
The glowing digital clock on Adrian’s bedside table read 3:14 AM when his phone lit up with a security alert. He sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes while scrolling through the encrypted IT report from the Vale Family Office servers.
An archived administrative account belonging to his late father had just accessed restricted files in the main database. The login credentials used matched exactly with the biometric profile assigned exclusively to his mother, Lenora.
Adrian slipped out of bed quietly, pulling on a dark cashmere sweater over his shoulders as he stepped into the hallway. The sprawling Connecticut mansion was dead silent, save for the faint howling of the autumn wind against the antique windowpanes.
He walked down the dim corridor toward his mother’s master suite, his heart pounding against his ribs with nervous energy. He pushed the heavy mahogany door open just an inch to check if she was awake.
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Lenora lay fast asleep beneath the silk duvet, her breathing slow and steady, clutching her favorite porcelain teacup on the nightstand. She had not left her bed in hours, making it physically impossible for her to have accessed the office terminal downstairs.
Adrian descended the grand sweeping staircase into the dark foyer, his shoes clicking softly against the marble floor. Someone inside Vale House had used his mother’s biometric credentials to unlock secrets Malcolm Vale had buried decades ago.
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