Chapter 11 · Your Sister's Outside

The knocking stopped.

I stared at the metal shutter. Cole had his hand on my shoulder, squeezing hard enough to bruise.

"Don't," he said.

The woman outside spoke again. Calm. Like she had all night.

"Ivy. I know you're in there. Cole's with you, right? Tell him I'm not here for him. Not yet."

My throat locked up. She knew Cole's name. She knew mine. And she called herself my sister.

Cole pulled me back a step. "That's Leah Gray."

I looked at him. "Gray. Like—"

"Like Gray Protocol. Yeah." His jaw was tight. "She's the field lead now. Her father ran it twenty years ago. The night your mom disappeared."

My stomach dropped.

"She's my sister?"

"Half. Same mother. Different fathers." Cole's voice was flat. Professional. Like he was reading a case file. "Your mom had Leah first. Gave her up. Tried to run. They found her anyway."

I couldn't breathe.

Leah knocked again. Three slow taps.

"Ivy. I'm not armed. I just want to talk. Five minutes. Then I'll leave."

Cole shook his head. "She's lying."

"How do you know?"

"Because I taught her how to lie.