We stopped in front of the heavy steel door of the vault.

Marcus turned to me, his hand reaching into his coat pocket.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out, keeping my eyes on Marcus.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

I glanced down at the screen.

The message read: *Get out of the house. Marcus sold you.*

At that moment, the lights in the hallway went completely black.

The darkness was thick and absolute.

I took a silent step backward, my heels scraping against the concrete floor.

“Maeve?” Marcus’s voice was too close.

I heard the rustle of his heavy coat.

The second guard shifted, his boots squeaking on the damp stone.

“Don’t move,” the guard on my left said.

My thumb slid over the screen of my phone, keeping the brightness low but using the faint glow to see the outline of Marcus’s arm.

He was reaching out for me.

“The generator will take thirty seconds,” Marcus said, his voice dropping its polite tone.

“Come with me quietly, and nobody gets hurt.”