Chapter 96
Lilac held a napkin to her nose, her hand on Ace’s as they descended deeper into the heart of the diamond excavation site. After a lot of sweet talking and pillow talking, she had finally been able to convince Ace to bring her here. Since the Blackwoods were responsible for the mining and extraction, it was normal that at times they might come just to see the work going on.
Lilac knew that Mason would never bring her here; he might even become suspicious, wondering how she knew of the contract. And besides, there was an underlying tension brewing in the family, so she had been careful with her every step, else she’d be the bearer of his anger. And now, as she stood beside Ace, eyes wide with false wonder, she played the part of the wide-eyed admirer perfectly.
The head supervisor, a broad-shouldered man in a worn jacket and protective gloves, walked just ahead of them. His helmet’s lamp flickered as he turned to address Ace.
"We’ve cleared through Layer C2 this week," he reported, voice steady and seasoned with years of experience. "The yield’s been better than expected. We found a fresh vein about seventy meters deep. It was clean, dense, and stable. Processing’s already begun on the surface."
He gestured toward a small cart filled with raw stones, still dust-covered but already gleaming faintly. "Our latest scans show the vein extends eastward, possibly another thirty meters. If it holds, we’re looking at a twenty percent increase in extraction volume over last quarter."
Ace nodded thoughtfully, pulling his hand from Lilac’s to examine a piece of the rough diamond ore. "And the seismic activity?"
"Minimal," the supervisor replied. "No tremors in the last two weeks. Reinforcement’s holding, and we’ve upgraded the ventilation in Shaft Three to keep the lower crew safe."
Lilac trailed a step behind them, her eyes darting around. The men were absorbed in their conversation, and the workers nearby were too busy operating drills or carting loads to notice her.
Then her eyes caught a small, jagged piece of diamond just beside a discarded set of tools near a pile of rubble, likely broken off during extraction and forgotten, half-buried in dust.