“That is what Salvatore wanted everyone to believe,” Adrian said, looking around the courtyard. “She ran away. She built a network to help people escape him.”

“And you trust her?” I asked.

“I have to,” Adrian said. “She is the only one who can get us out of Illinois without Salvatore knowing.”

He pulled me behind a large stone pillar near the garden entrance.

He set Oliver down on his feet but kept a tight grip on his hand.

The boy looked up at the towering bronze statues, his eyes wide.

Adrian pulled out his phone again.

The screen lit up with three missed calls, all from Salvatore.

“She told me to meet her here if things ever went bad,” Adrian said. “In the south garden, near the reflecting pool.”

I looked across the gravel path toward the pool.

The water was black and still, reflecting the bare branches of the trees above.

“How will we know her?” I asked.

“She will find us,” Adrian said.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket, but before he could step out from behind the pillar, a low hum vibrated through the air.