I had to trust that Adrian would find them first.

Camille’s phone buzzed in her hand, a low, steady vibration.

She looked at the caller ID and smiled.

“It is time,” she said.

She pressed a button, putting the call on speaker.

A deep, gravelly voice came through the line.

It was Salvatore Vale.

“Is the girl secured?” the old man asked.

“She is in the car with me,” Camille said.

“And the children?”

My breath caught in my throat.

“They were not at the safe house,” Camille lied, or perhaps she truly believed it. “Only Isabella’s guards.”

“No matter,” Salvatore said. “We have the leverage we need.”

I heard the crackle of static on the line, followed by the sound of another phone ringing in the background.

“I am calling Adrian now,” the old man said.

“Keep her close, Camille.”

“I will,” she said.

The line went dead.

The SUV turned sharply onto a bridge, the steel grid beneath the tires humming loudly.

In the distance, the dark silhouette of the Vale estate loomed against the gray sky.

Camille’s personal phone lit up on the dashboard.