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I thought Alister Baine was a cold, stern bastard. Maybe he is, or maybe he’s just a parent desperate to keep his kids safe.

Alister explained why he wanted me to remain hidden. It wasn’t just because of his enemies. As his firstborn child, I had a duty I couldn’t escape. He prepared Henderson for it, since he thought Henderson was his firstborn. Then Mom threw me into the picture, and all Alister’s plans were fucked. I was not only female, but I was his firstborn. I belonged to The Rites of Passage.

I tried to hate Alister those first weeks. He insisted I join family dinners, wanted to walk with me, asked about my hobbies. He made me realize I have none. In my spare time, I made hacking playlists. I grew up believing I was just code.

Alister’s shown me I can be more.

Footsteps sound from down the hall. I look at my watch. “Punctual as always,” I mutter.

Henderson is never late. All those years in college, I thought I was alone; he was there on a screen talking to me as my hacker friend Bre8kMe. Those jobs he asked me to help him with? He did it because I was starting to flunk out of university. He and Alister thought giving me a job and purpose would help steer me onto the right path.

When I found out, my first instinct was pure hatred. I wanted to destroy Henderson, to make him bleed. But then I realized I was looking at a different version of myself. Henderson was just as disposable as I was. So I made it my mission to teach us both that, across the board, we had to stop being played and take the power for ourselves.

Not because I wanted to rule anything. I just wanted the basic freedom to choose. Unfortunately, in my new world, the only way to get it was to take everyone else’s choices away.

So I would.

But to do that, I needed to hack my way in. Physical strength wasn’t my power—secrets were.

Knock, knock.

I flinch. The doors here are solid wood, so every knock booms like thunder. “Come in,” I yell. I quickly tie my other boot, tucking the laces in the way Henderson taught me.

Henderson pokes his head in. “Ready?”

I nod. But first, I cross to the nightstand, open it, and pull out the small knife Steffen gave me on our last day. Henderson stays silent as I slide it into my boot. I close the drawer, but my eyes snag on Steffen’s family photo. The top left corner is scorched. I once held it to a candle, watched the edge curl and blacken, then panicked and snuffed it out. I just couldn’t finish the job.

Steffen wasn’t pencil; he was ink in my life, impossible to erase. He was made of wicked truths and tangled lies.

Henderson clears his throat. I slam the drawer shut and face him. He slips in like a fox. He’s tall and lean like me. Sure, he’s got more muscle, but next to Torben, who looks like a linebacker, Henderson is more of an elite soccer player.

“We have a visitor today,” he says in a hushed voice.

“Visitor?” My forehead wrinkles.

“Cillian.”

I roll my eyes.

“He wants to⁠—”

I raise my hand, cutting him off. “Check on me?” I grunt. “What’s the point? This is my life now.”

Henderson drops his gaze and licks his lips.

Fuck, I didn’t mean it like that.

Do I hate this life? Shockingly no. Henderson and Alister genuinely need me. Henderson and Alister are allies, but they can turn on you if the tides of war change. I had to play everything cautiously.

I grab his hand. “I’m not mad at you anymore,” I tell him.

Honestly, I’m not. Henderson is like me; he did what he was told. The only difference is Alister wasn’t using him to make money as Frank used me. He was banking on Henderson to be a smarter, better version of himself so that he could rule their empire.

Alister was right. The world forgives men.

If the world refused to forgive me, then I’d make sure it fell to its knees before me.

I’m going to hack every last one of them. Dig up all their secrets, and if I ever go down, I’ll drag them with me. No more running. It’s time to fight, but first, I need to build my arsenal.