Chapter 377

Sunday was Mother's Day.

Chloe was driven to the Hartwell residence on Saturday by Damien's chauffeur.

Her Mother's Day gift for Camille was a handmade card. In careful cursive, she'd written: "Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Love you." Just six simple words.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Chloe beamed. "The teacher said I could ask Dad for help, but he's been swamped with work. I did everything myself - the design, the drawings, even gluing these tiny hearts."

It had been months since Camille last saw Chloe's schoolwork. The girl's handwriting had improved remarkably.

Holding the card, Camille suddenly remembered last year's incident. She'd flown all the way to Lucerne to celebrate her birthday with Chloe and Damien, only to find her daughter polishing a bracelet for Selene Lancaster.

According to Chloe, that bracelet had been a joint project with Damien.

Camille's expression remained neutral despite the memory.

She closed the card gently. "It's lovely. Thank you."

The next day, Camille received a call from Graham Bellamy. That evening, she returned to the military base.

When Felix Rhodes entered the data center, he stopped abruptly at the sight of Camille working intensely.

She didn't notice him at first.

Only when she reached for her water glass did she spot Felix standing across the room, watching her.

A brief nod. Then back to work.

Felix had come for a specific purpose.

After concluding his meeting, he noticed Camille still at her station and approached.

"It's late. Aren't you going to eat?"

Camille looked up. "Soon."

Felix nodded and left her to her work.

Later, exiting the data center, Camille found Felix waiting outside. Clearly, he'd been standing there for some time.

Hearing footsteps, he turned. "Finished? Heading to the mess hall?"

"Yes. You?"

"Care to join me?"

Camille paused, realizing he'd waited for her. Probably didn't want to interrupt her work earlier.

Felix met her gaze. "You must have seen the footage from my mission last week. In a way, you saved my life."

Every pilot had unique flight patterns - unconscious habits formed through experience.

In this age of advanced AI, such patterns could be digitized and exploited by enemies.

Based on his combat history and enemy data, Camille's system had flagged his intended maneuver as predictable. It provided counterstrategies, accurately predicting enemy positions and suggesting optimal attack vectors.

That system's guidance had kept him alive.

Camille understood immediately. "Providing that support is our job. Besides, you kept your cool and made the right call. You saved yourself."

Perhaps it was her duty, but since that mission, Felix had heard nothing but praise for Camille throughout the base - particularly about her data analysis skills and tactical intuition.

Just as Felix was about to respond, Graham approached.

"Come with me," he said to Camille.