The man folds his hands behind his back.
“My name is Director Wu.”
Every operative in the tunnel goes silent.
Even Gabriel looks shaken now.
And suddenly I understand why.
Not just a commander.
Not just Sentinel.
This man runs it.
Wu’s eyes settle on me with horrifying familiarity.
“You disappeared from us eighteen months ago.”
Eighteen months.
My mind spins.
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?” he asks gently.
Clay’s grip tightens around me.
“She doesn’t belong to you.”
Wu’s gaze shifts toward him.
Cold now.
Analytical.
“Actually,” he says quietly, “she was designed by us.”
The tunnel goes dead silent.
And then Wu says the one thing that makes my blood freeze solid.
“She volunteered.”
28
Clay
“She volunteered.”
The words hit the tunnel like a grenade.
For one second, nobody moves.
Nobody breathes.
Then rage detonates inside me so violently I actually take a step toward Director Wu before Russ catches my vest hard.
