“You’re too late, Mr. Rossi,” Evan said, his voice surprisingly soft.

He raised his left hand, showing us a small, black remote control with a single red button.

The button was already depressed.

“I’ve already initiated the secondary sequence,” Evan said, a faint smile touching his lips.

Suddenly, the screen of my phone lit up in my hand, a new message flashing on the lock screen.

The screen was bright, casting a blue glow over my fingers.

The message was from Mrs. Bellamy.

My thumb swiped the screen to open the text, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“LORENZO, IT IS EVAN,” the message read.

“HE IS THE ONE INSIDE the house. HE HAS BEEN MANIPULATING THE LOCKS AND SECURITY FROM THE BASEMENT. DO NOT TRUST HIM.”

I stared at the letters, the words blurring for a second before they sank in.

I raised my eyes to look at the man standing in front of the breaker panel.

Evan Morris stood perfectly still, the green light from the servers washing over his calm face.

“Lorenzo,” I said, my voice barely a whisper in the cold room.