Chapter 13 · The Woman Wearing My Face

The woman wearing my face reached for the vault seal.

Adrian slammed his hand over it.

"Don't touch that."

Her fingers stopped an inch above the black glass plate. She looked at him, then at me.

Same cheekbones. Same gray eyes. Same tiny scar beneath the left brow.

My scar.

"You brought her here," I said.

Adrian's fingers tightened over the seal. Blood ran from his nose and spattered the white floor.

"I brought you here. She was already waiting."

"That's not better."

The vault walls bucked. Every memory screen flashed at once. My mother's face appeared on six panels, then twisted into static.

The woman smiled with my mouth.

"Mara," she said. "You took your time."

My stomach dropped.

Adrian stepped in front of me. His shoulder brushed mine, hot even through our coats. The contract mark beneath my palm burned in answer.

"Back up," he told the copy.

She tilted her head. "You still give orders like this bank belongs to you."

"It will, if I live long enough to claim it."

"You won't."

The screens behind her turned red.

PURGE SEQUENCE READY.

I grabbed Adrian's sleeve. "What did she activate?"

"The vault's cleanout.