The hour was late, but Dominic Elford was wide awake.
The warm glow of the study's chandelier cast deep shadows across the shelves of ancient books and bound records, their gilded spines gleaming faintly in the low light. Outside, the estate grounds lay cloaked in stillness, but inside this room, the air was alive with quiet tension.
Dominic stood by the tall window, a glass of brandy untouched in his hand, his sharp eyes reflecting the flickering light from the datapad resting on his desk.
The room smelled faintly of leather and aged paper, the quiet hum of encrypted servers tucked behind the wood-paneled walls the only sound besides the occasional crack of the fire.
