Chapter 333

Felix Rhodes blinked in surprise when he spotted Camille Hartwell. "Ms. Hartwell?"

Camille gave a polite nod. "Hello, Mr. Rhodes."

His lips curved into a smile. "Are you stationed here now?"

She shook her head. "No, my mentor requested my assistance with something."

That made him pause.

Very few had the clearance to bring in external personnel.

Then it clicked—her close ties to Gabriel Ashcroft, despite their strictly professional relationship.

His eyes widened slightly. "Your mentor... is Graham Bellamy?"

"Yes," she confirmed with a faint nod.

So she really was one of Graham's protégés, just like Gabriel.

The realization hit him like a delayed shockwave.

If she was Graham's student, suddenly everything made sense.

Why Gabriel had publicly credited her for NovaSight Labs's breakthrough at the gala.

Why his father had watched her so intently—not just at his grandfather's exhibition, but also during Everett Mercer's forum.

His father must have known all along.

But being Graham's student alone wouldn't warrant that level of scrutiny.

Unless—

Unless those groundbreaking NovaSight Labs projects were hers.

The possibility struck him like lightning.

Felix stared at her, momentarily speechless.

Camille was quiet, composed, never drawing attention to herself. He'd never have guessed someone so unassuming could be behind such revolutionary work.

They found seats in the cafeteria.

"How long will you be on base?" Felix asked.

"Not sure. Depends on my mentor."

A brief silence. Then she added, "Feels like ages since we last met outside work. Is training keeping you that busy?"

Felix gave a wry smile. "Pilots don't exactly get vacations."

His break was short. After a quick exchange, he excused himself for duty.

Two days later, he saw her again during an AI-human combat drill.

Live simulation—human pilots against AI-controlled jets.

Once data was collected, Camille and the research team dove into analysis, tweaking algorithms based on combat dynamics.

When Felix entered the lab, she was deep in focus, barely noticing him.

Only when he approached did she glance up, offering a polite nod before returning to her screen without pause.

Camille stayed nearly ten days before leaving.

She departed the base under cover of night, arriving home at dawn.

When she powered on her phone, twenty missed calls lit up the screen.

Declan Vaughn. Tristan Rutherford. Chloe Harrington. Even Damien Harrington had tried reaching her.

She could guess why Chloe and Damien called.

But Declan had called first—and most frequently.

So she dialed him back.

He answered instantly. "Finally done?"

"Yes," she said. "Was there an issue? Is it resolved?"

"There was. Everything's handled now."

Ten days ago, he'd shown up at the theater and found her missing. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

When she didn't appear at work Monday, he'd feared the worst.

He'd gone straight to Gabriel, who assured him it was a family matter.

Now, hearing her voice, he finally relaxed.