THE OFFICER RAISED THE LAST DOCUMENT

I wanted to confront them immediately. Ruth stopped me by gripping my wrist.

"Not yet," she whispered. "Listen first."

We moved into the adjacent kennel room and watched through a cracked service door.

Marissa entered with Mom behind her. My sister no longer wore sunglasses. She carried a large handbag against her chest as if protecting something fragile.

A man emerged from the corridor. Not Owen. This man was older, elegant in a gray suit, with white hair and a narrow face.

"You were told to come alone," he said.

"She has the original bracelet," Marissa replied. "You said you needed it."

My mother looked at her sharply. "You told me we were bringing proof to the police."

Marissa ignored her.

The man extended his hand. "Mrs. Cole. I am Dr. Adrian Voss. Your husband once worked for my foundation."

Halcyon House.

Mom stepped backward.

"You promised this would end if Milo was transferred," Marissa said.

"Milo was lost."

"He escaped because your people were careless."

"And returned to your sister because Guardian carriers seek familiar network signatures."

I glanced at Tessa. She silently mouthed, That makes no scientific sense.

Perhaps it was shorthand, manipulation, or something more complicated. Either way, Voss believed it.

Marissa opened her handbag and removed a small plastic evidence pouch. Inside was a faded hospital bracelet bearing the name Baby Mercer.

My mother gasped. "You took that from the cashbox."

"I took what should have been destroyed years ago."

Voss reached for it.

Mom seized Marissa's wrist. "No."

My sister shoved her away.

The movement was fast and ugly. Mom hit a metal table and cried out.

I stepped through the door before I could think.

"Get away from her."

Marissa spun. Voss remained perfectly calm.

"Lena," Mom said, horrified. "You shouldn't be here."

"Apparently everyone else should."

Ruth and Tessa came out behind me. Voss's composure cracked when he saw Ruth.

"You," he said.

"Still alive," Ruth answered.

Marissa looked between us. "You set this up."

"No," I said. "You did. Eleven months ago."

She laughed once, brittle and furious. "You think this is about your dog?"

"You sold him."

"I saved you."

"By selling what wasn't yours?"

"By giving them the one thing they wanted before they came for you."

She pointed at Voss. "He showed me the hospital records. He showed me what happened to Anna. He said if Guardian reactivated around you, everyone connected to the old program would know you were alive."

"So you made a secret deal."

"Because Mom and Dad were useless. They hid everything and called it protection. I fixed it."

"You took money."

Her silence confirmed it.

Voss spoke softly. "Two hundred and forty thousand dollars. A reasonable fee for cooperation."

My mother stared at Marissa. "You told us it was reimbursement."

"I needed to pay my debts."

There it was: the selfish truth beneath every noble excuse.

Voss held out his hand again. "The bracelet."

Marissa gave it to him.

The overhead lights went out.

A red emergency lamp flashed near the exit. Tessa grabbed my arm. Ruth shouted for us to run.