Chapter 40 · The vault's opening. I need your key now, Mara. Not later

The words knocked the air out of me.

Tessa rushed to the console. "The vault's opening. I need your key now, Mara. Not later."

Marlow's mark spread across the chamber floor in a black web. It raced toward the console, chewing through the legal seals.

"He's flipping the purge," Tessa said. "He's pushing it into your record."

A red line appeared over my wrist.

MARA VOSS: INVALID WITNESS.

My fingers went numb.

"He's burning my identity," I said.

Adrian looked at my wrist. His face went still. "Tessa, how long?"

"Three minutes before the grid removes her from every active record. Maybe less."

"Give me the key," Adrian said.

I snatched the crystal access strip from the console. It was no bigger than a fingernail, but it pulsed with the same red light as the mark on my wrist.

"If I feed this in, what happens?"

Tessa swallowed. "The grid will read you as the original oath holder. It can crack the sealed vault. It can also take everything attached to your name."

"My mother's memory?"

"Your license. Your home access. Your bank identity. Your marriage contract."

Adrian stepped in front of me. "Then don't do it.