#Chapter 95: Racing Against Time

I didn't sleep that night. The weight of what we'd discovered pressed down on me like a physical burden, making rest impossible. Giana was planning our deaths while systematically destroying my relationship with Raymond and isolating me from any potential allies. By dawn, I'd made my decision. Evidence or not, magical conditioning or not, I had to try to reach Raymond before Giana discovered our surveillance. Every hour I waited was another hour for her to strengthen her position. I found Kane in the strategy room, reviewing our recordings with professional detachment. Dark circles under his eyes suggested he'd gotten as little sleep as I had. "I'm going to Raymond," I announced without preamble. Kane looked up from the audio transcripts, his expression carefully neutral. "That's inadvisable. I’d suggest trying to find a time when he seems most receptive to information outside of the magical conditioning." "I have to try," I said firmly, gathering the evidence we'd collected.