There was another silence, followed by a loud, single keystroke.

“We’re in,” Lucas said.

His voice was triumphant, filled with a cold satisfaction that made my stomach turn.

“The transfer is processing,” he said. “The ledger is updating.”

“Is it done?” Chloe asked.

“Almost,” Lucas said. “It takes about five minutes for the clearing house to finalize the block.”

“And then?” she asked.

“Then I pack my bags,” Lucas said. “I’ll see you at the airport in Denver tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll be there,” Chloe said.

“I love you, Chloe,” he said. “We did it.”

“I love you too,” she said.

She ended the call before he could say anything else.

She dropped the phone on the table as if it had burned her hand.

She looked at me, her face pale.

“Did it work?” she whispered.

“We have to check the node,” I said.

I pulled my laptop out of my bag and opened the lid.

My fingers tapped against the keys as I logged into the secure network.

The screen flickered, displaying a map of data streams.