Any attempt to pull the box from the wall would likely detonate the blasting caps hidden inside the joints.

“Don’t touch it, Daniel,” I said.

“We don’t have the time to guess.”

“We have to get Elena and Nora out of here,” Daniel said, his eyes darting to the stairs.

02:22.

“No,” Nora said, her voice suddenly sharp.

“We aren’t leaving you, Adrian.”

“And we aren’t leaving without knowing where Lila is.”

Nora stepped around the stone pillar, coming to stand directly in front of Caleb.

She looked at him with a fierce, burning hatred that I had never seen in her before.

“Tell her where the girl is, Caleb,” Nora said, her voice shaking with rage.

“You’ve taken enough from us.”

“You took my life, you locked me away.”

“I won’t let you destroy her too.”

Caleb let out a short, dry laugh that turned into a cough.

“You always were the weak link, Nora,” Caleb said.

“You should have stayed in that room.”

“It was safer for you there.”

The timer beeped, a sharp, piercing sound that seemed to vibrate through the damp stone walls.