Harmony whispered, “So last night wasn’t the attempt.”
I swallowed. “It was rehearsal.”
Her hands trembled around the mug.
I reached out, covering them with mine. “Not happening again. Not even close.”
Harmony’s breath hitched. I stood, moving in front of her without thinking. “You’re telling us the man from last night was already in town before the storm hit?”
“Yes.”
A soft knock broke through the tension in the room, three taps, hesitant but insistent.
Dad moved first, Becket right behind him.
I stayed close to Harmony.
When the door opened, Noah Tremblay stood on the porch, snow collecting in his hair, breath curling white in the cold. He didn’t look like a man stopping by casually. He looked… uneasy. Watchful.
Dad didn’t step aside. “This isn’t a good time, Noah.”
“I know,” Noah said quietly. His gaze flicked past Dad to Harmony. “But something came across my desk this morning. And it concerns her.”
Harmony stiffened beside me. My hand instinctively covered hers.
Dad’s voice hardened. “Say what you came to say.”
Noah swallowed and shifted his weight, jaw flexing. “There was an unauthorized access attempt on the Laurentian Community Trust servers. Someone masked their identity, but not perfectly.”
Becket straightened. “When?”
“Just after dawn.” Noah’s gaze swept the room cautiously. “Before the storm got bad.”
I felt Harmony go still next to me.
“Accessed what?” Becket asked.
“Internal rosters. Volunteer logs. Donation reports.” Noah’s voice dropped lower. “Files connected to Harmony’s name.”
Harmony flinched.
Noah continued, “The digital footprint routed through a Montreal-based cluster used by private enforcement contractors. Not government. Not police. Freelancers. People who don’t leave trails unless they want to.”
My jaw clenched. “So someone was looking for her.”
Noah nodded once. “Not casually. This wasn’t scraping data for identity theft or vandalism. It was targeted.”
Harmony whispered, “Why go through the Trust?”
Noah’s expression tightened, something like guilt or fear or both. “Because it’s the most recent organization you signed your name to. For someone searching your patterns, that’s a logical entry point.”
Harmony’s breath caught. “But this morning… already?”
Noah met her eyes. “Whoever it is, he’s close. That’s all I can confirm and this isn’t the first time we’ve had a breach. Westarted having them a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I should’ve said something sooner but I didn’t want to alarm anyone.”
A cold chill slid through the room.
Dad’s stare sharpened. “Can you trace him?”
