My breath caught in my throat as Aries slowly turned his head to look at me.

The silence between us returned, thicker and heavier than before, as his phone screen flared in the dark.

His eyes remained fixed on my face, reflecting the cold, blue light of the screen.

The car seemed to grow smaller, the air thinning between us.

“Sienna,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“I don’t know what that means,” I said.

My heart hammered against my ribs, but I kept my voice level.

“You are a very good liar,” Aries said. “Or you are very brave.”

“I am neither,” I said. “I am a tailor.”

He held the phone between us, the red text still glowing.

“The thread,” he repeated. “What did your father do with the rest of it?”

I looked at the heavy brass shears in my hand, their weight solid and cold.

“My father had a second ledger,” I said.

Aries did not blink.

“Go on,” he said.

“It was not written on paper,” I said. “Paper burns. Paper can be stolen.”

“Where is it?” Killian asked from the front seat.