Chapter 23 · Witness Blood

Lucien's hand closed around my wrist before I could take a step toward the roof access door.

"Don't," he said. His voice was low. Careful. Like I was standing on the edge of something that would break if I moved wrong.

Marek stood five feet away, that blade still loose in his hand. He wasn't smiling anymore. He was watching Lucien with the kind of focus that made my stomach drop.

"She deserves to know," Marek said. "Vivian left records. Security footage. Voice memos. All of it locked in a server room two floors down. You want to keep her in the dark? Go ahead. But she'll find out eventually."

I pulled my wrist free. Lucien let me.

"Is that true?" I asked.

Lucien didn't look at me. He was still watching Marek. "Vivian was careful. Paranoid, even. If she left something, it's encrypted. Locked behind biometrics we don't have anymore."

"We don't need biometrics," Marek said. "We have her successor."

That word landed wrong. Successor. Like I'd inherited a title I never asked for.

"What does that mean?" My voice came out sharper than I wanted.

Marek tilted his head. "You signed the same contract she did. Same terms.