Chapter 23 · Early Collection

"Your sister's in the catalog now."

Silas stood on the platform edge, coat buttoned against wind that hadn't started yet. Behind him, the tunnels stretched dark and still humming with the sound of whatever they'd unplugged from Elliott's chest.

"You said twenty-four hours." My voice came out flat. Mara stood two steps behind me, the ledger still warm in her grip.

"I said I'd hold the auction," Silas corrected. "Didn't say when."

The train tracks gleamed under the service lights. Somewhere below us, the core was resetting without Elliott's heartbeat to anchor it. The city didn't care. It'd roll back at midnight same as always, swallow another hour, spit out everyone who couldn't remember.

Except me.

"Where is she?" I asked.

Silas checked his watch. Not the expensive one he wore topside. This one had a second hand that ticked backward.

"Pier Eighteen. Cargo hold. They're running intake early because someone"—his eyes flicked to Mara—"made a mess of my primary site."

"We had a deal."

"We had a arrangement." He smiled. Thin, bloodless. "You bring me proof the reset can hold without manual override. You didn't. So the contract defaults, and your sister's name goes live in exactly"—another glance—"forty-one minutes."