Chapter 16 · A Dead Man's Voice

The screen doesn't flicker. Doesn't glitch. Just shows my father's face like he recorded this yesterday.

He looks older. Thinner. But it's him.

"Mara's dead," he says. His voice is flat. No grief. No anger. Just fact. "If you're seeing this, one of you opened the lock. That means the Court's already inside."

I can't breathe. Can't move. My hand's still bleeding onto the floor and I don't care.

Evan makes a noise behind me. Something between a gasp and a sob.

Julian's on his knees beside me, black veins crawling up his jaw. He's staring at the screen like it might bite him.

"They'll tell you I died in the fire," Dad continues. "They'll tell you Mara set it. Half true. She thought the kids were gone. Someone changed the extraction order. Someone wanted witnesses."

My father leans closer to the camera. His eyes are hollow.

"I'm alive because I ran. I'm staying alive because I have something they need. The real ledger. Not the copy Evan's been carrying."

I spin around. "What?"

Evan's face is white. "Nia—"

"You knew." My voice cracks. "You knew he was alive."

"I didn't. Not until two weeks ago." Evan's shaking.