“It looks identical to the master decryption protocol,” Adrian explained. “But it contains a tracing utility.”

I leaned closer, my analytical training kicking in despite the panic. “A digital signature tracker?”

“Exactly,” Adrian said. “The moment he attempts to load this key into his terminal, it will ping our network.”

“He won’t do it himself,” I said, shaking my head. “Marcus is smart. He will run it through a proxy server first.”

“That is what we are counting on,” Adrian said.

He tapped a key, and a map of Chicago appeared on the screen.

Three red dots were blinking in the northern suburbs, near the industrial corridor.

“Thomas’s team is already tracking the digital signature of the ransom demand,” Adrian said.

My phone buzzed on my lap.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

It was an email address, followed by a single line: *Ninety minutes left.*

“He is using an encrypted relay,” I said, showing the screen to Adrian.

“Send the decoy file to that address,” Adrian said.

“But Adrian, if he realizes it is a fake before we find Clara—”