"We're tracing the signal now," she says without preamble. "Tech team's working on the exact location. Andy's standing by to move once we have coordinates."
"How long between the afternoon sweep and when we entered the room?" Luc's voice is deadly calm.
"Maybe three hours. The room was clear at four when my team finished. You entered just after seven."
"Who knew which room we'd be using?" The question comes out sharp.
Margot's jaw tightens. "Me. You. The booking system logged it under my admin credentials when I made the reservation this morning. And..."
"And?" Luc presses.
"The attendant who prepared the room. She's been with us for over a year, fully vetted, but she would have known which space to set up."
Luc pulls out his phone, texts rapidly. "I want her personnel file and a full background re-check. And I want to know everyone who accessed that booking system today."
"Already on it," Margot confirms.
My stomach drops. Someone knew. Someone with access to Dominion's internal systems. Either the attendant told someone, or the booking system was compromised, or?—
"Inside job," I say quietly. "Has to be."
"Or your stalker has better resources than we thought." Luc moves to the monitor wall. "Show me the feed."
Margot hesitates. "Luc, it's?—"
"Show me."
She pulls up the video. The angle is perfect—capturing the bed, the positioning, everything. I watch myself on screen, bound and blindfolded, watch Luc fuck me with a roughness that looks even more intense from this angle.
"Turn it off." My voice cracks.
The screen goes dark.
Luc's expression doesn't change, but his hands have curled into fists. "They got what they wanted. Proof that you're mine now. That you're under my protection." He turns to Margot. "Where's the trace?"
"Tech's narrowing it down. Lower Garden District, near the industrial corridor. But the signal's bouncing through multiple relays. They're trying to pinpoint the exact location."
"How long?"
"Maybe another twenty minutes for a solid lock. Then Andy moves."
Twenty minutes feels like an eternity. I sink into one of the chairs, my legs shaky from the scene and the adrenaline crash hitting all at once.
Luc crouches in front of me. "You still with me?"
"Yes." I force steadiness into my voice. "I'm just trying to understand how they knew. How they got that camera in there so fast."
"That's the right question." He straightens, turns back to Margot. "Three-hour window. Professional installation. They'd need time to access the room, plant the device, test the signal. That's not a rushed job."
"Which means they knew well in advance," Margot says slowly. "Not just which room, but when you'd be using it."
The implications make my skin crawl. "The only people who knew we were coming tonight were you, Luc, Remy, and whoever you told."
"And whoever compromised the booking system," Luc adds. "Or whoever the attendant told. Or whoever's been watching you long enough to predict your patterns."
His phone buzzes. He reads the screen, and something in his expression hardens. "Andy's got a preliminary location. Abandoned warehouse on Tchoupitoulas. He's moving in now with a team."
"That was fast," I say.
