Chapter 30 · She let go. He hit the railing with

She let go.

He hit the railing with his shoulder. "Damn it."

"You brought me here. You followed me into a building controlled by a woman who can shut down my brain. You keep saying this is about the dead, but you keep saving me. Pick one."

His eyes flashed. "You think saving you makes me weak?"

"I think it makes you dishonest."

The stairwell speaker crackled.

Mira's voice slipped through. "He's not protecting you, Celine. He's protecting the story he tells himself."

Ethan looked up at the speaker. "You always did love an audience."

"And you always loved hiding behind one."

Celine stepped toward the next landing. "Mira, why does the file have my authorization?"

Silence.

Not static. Not a dropped signal. A choice.

Then Mira said, "Ask him what he did the night your mother died."

Ethan's face changed.

Celine turned to him. "What did you do?"

"I tried to stop the test."

"Tried?"

"Celine, we have four hours."

"What did you do?"

He looked away.

That was answer enough to make her chest tighten.

She grabbed the front of his shirt and shoved him into the stairwell wall. His injured arm struck the concrete.