“Yes,” he said, looking around the room. “The board is restless. Have you seen Marcus? He was looking for you.”

My throat went dry.

“Marcus?”

“He said he had some questions about the third-quarter archives,” Vance said. “The ones you filed before the transition.”

“I haven’t seen him,” I said.

“Well, he went toward the security office,” Vance said, taking a sip from his champagne flute. “He looked rather hurried.”

I nodded, my mind racing.

If Marcus was in the security office, he was likely checking the server logs.

He would see that someone had accessed the primary safe in the study.

He would know the physical bypass key had been cloned.

“Excuse me, Mr. Vance,” I said. “I should find my coat.”

“Of course,” he said, turning back to the crowd.

I walked quickly toward the main staircase, my heels clicking softly on the polished marble.

The ballroom was packed with people.

Men in black tuxedos and women in glittering gowns blocked the exits.

I scanned the room, looking for Alexander.

He was still upstairs in the study with Victoria, playing his part to buy me time.