Chapter 10 · The Last Layer

"Say that again." My wrist is still in his hand. "You own the cameras."

"I built the network." Vale doesn't let go. His thumb sits right over my pulse like he's counting it. "Eight months ago. Before Rhys ever touched a bond record."

"So when Priya said Rhys installed a hidden camera—"

"He installed a camera on my grid." His voice doesn't rise. It never rises, and that's the part that scares me. "He thinks he owns the footage. He doesn't own the server."

The vault groans. Somewhere behind the wall a compressor kicks off, and the air goes thick and still, the kind of still that makes your ears ring. The emergency light over the door drops from white to red, and the room shrinks two sizes in half a second.

"Vale." I pull my wrist back and he lets it go this time. "Why does that matter right now?"

"Because if I still have root," he says, "then whatever Rhys thinks he's holding over you, he's holding a copy. Not the master."

My stomach drops anyway.