Page 99 of Vows of Ruin

Margot stops a few feet away from us, tablet clutched in her hand. “It’s Noah.”

My stomach drops, I didn’t want to believe it when Liam told me who they were going to find.

Elias’ jaw is tight. “Or someone using his access. But the signature matches too closely for it to be random.”

I stand slowly. “Show me.”

Margot turns the tablet toward us. “This is what I showed Reaper. Kellan checked in three days ago. Ruiz dropped a packet yesterday. Dax pinged late last night,” Her finger taps the screen. “Noah hasn’t hit a single window in eight days.”

Max’s expression hardens. I stare at the data, trying to make the pieces arrange into anything that doesn't feel like betrayal.

Margot swipes to the next screen. “This relay came through an internal path. Not fully inside the mansion, but close enough to our systems that whoever sent it knows how we operate.”

“Coordinates?” I ask.

Elias nods confirming what I already know. “Near the industrial line.”

The words settle like ice in my blood.

“Where Reaper and Torque went,” Max says.

No one answers. No one has to. Max already has his phone out. He calls Liam first. It rings once. Twice. Nothing. Max tries again, this time with Torque. Same result. His jaw tightens as he lowers the phone. “No answer from either one.”

The garden goes painfully still. For one ugly second, all I can hear is my own pulse. I breathe in. Deep and slow, and sharp enough to hurt.

“They know how to handle what’s in front of them,” I saw, steadying my voice even when the rest of me wants to fracture. “I… we have to believe that.”

Max watches me carefully. Then he nods. “Okay,” His voice shifts, turning clean and controlled. “Margot, Elias, dig up everything you can on that relay. I want origin points, access history, any old codes Noah might’ve used, and every route connected to those coordinates.”

Margot nods. “Already started.”

“Good,” Max looks toward the house. “Riot needs to prep a truck just in case. Quiet loadout. No panic.”

Elias takes the tablet back. “I’ll pull satellite overlays and traffic cams.”

“Do it.” Max says.

They turn and head back inside, already moving. Max stays with me. For a second, the garden is quiet again, but it isn’t soft anymore

He steps closer pulling both of my hands to his chest. “You okay?”

I look toward the oak tree, then back to his eyes. “No,” I say. “But I’m steady.”

His mouth tightens with something that almost looks like pride. “That’s close enough.”

The minutes drag after that. I keep my promise. Barely.

Back in the war room, the mansion shifts around us like a machine waking up under pressure. Margot and Elias work side by side, chasing the relay through old access points, and half buried routes. Riot leans against the far wall, arms crossed, quiet for once. Wrecker sits near the door, bouncing one knee, pretending he isn’t watching me watch the clock.

Max stays close, but not too close. He knows me well enough not to cage me. The second hand ticks too loud. Every minute feels like a test. Margot mutters something under her breath Elias answers without looking up. Their screens flash with maps, logs, fragments of signals that almost lead somewhere before breaking apart again.

I stare at the clock. Two hours, two minutes have passed. Liam said three. I promised, so I wait. The buzz of my phone cuts through the room. Everyone looks at it. The name on the screen knocks the air from my lungs. Daisy. For a second, I just stare. I don’t have time for this. Not right now. Not when Liam is silent and Torque isn’t answering and Noah may have handed us all to Sebastian wrapped in a pretty little bow.

Daisy’s name keeps flashing. She matters too. I slide the phone across the table to Wrecker. “Can you talk to her?”

He catches it mid-slide, already nodding. “Yeah. I got it.” He pushes to his feet as he heads toward the hall. “Hey, kiddo…” His voice softens before the door swings shut behind him.

The room exhales, but it doesn’t help. The tension seeps right back in.