"Crystal."
"Good." She moves to the door. Pauses. "One more thing. Vivianne's father—Henry Faulks. What's your read on him?"
I think about the man who controlled every aspect of Vivianne's life. Who arranged her marriage like a business transaction. Who values legacy and power over his daughter's happiness.
"Dangerous." The word feels inadequate. "He'll do whatever it takes to maintain control."
"His purpose being?"
"Sentinel." Merlin speaks before I can. "An organization we know almost nothing about. Only that it's old, powerful, and the Faulks family has been part of it for generations."
Jenny's expression shifts. Something flickers there—recognition? Concern? It's gone before I can identify it.
"Sentinel." She repeats the word like a curse. "Well. That complicates things."
"You've heard of it?" I lean forward.
"If Henry Faulks is part of Sentinel, if that's what's driving this marriage..." She trails off. Thinks. "We need to adjust our approach. Be even more careful."
"How much more careful can we be?"
"You'd be surprised." Her smile is grim. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow, we start surveillance."
We file out. The war room has mostly emptied—just Mitzy still tinkering with equipment, her rainbow hair bent over circuit boards and micro-electronics.
I make my way to the room they've assigned me. Small. Spartan. A bed, a desk, a window overlooking dark fields.
Sleep won't come. I know it won't. So I sit by the window, staring out at nothing, thinking about Vivianne.
Six days.
In six days, I'll see her again. Touch her. Hold her.
Or I'll lose her forever.
The door opens quietly. I don't turn—I already know it's Merlin from the weight of his footsteps.
"Can't sleep either?"
"Not even close."
He settles into the room's only chair with a soft grunt. We sit in comfortable silence for a while, two men bound by blood and loss and stolen art.
"Paul." His voice breaks the quiet. "What Jenny said about choosing. About prioritizing Vivianne over the pendant."
"I meant it."
"I know you did. But I also know you." A pause. "You're thinking you can do both. Save her and retrieve what was stolen. That you're clever enough, fast enough, lucky enough to pull off both objectives."
I don't answer because he's right.
"Catherine thought that too." His voice goes rough. "Thought she could get the Caravaggio and get out clean. We all did."
"This isn't Florence."
"No. It's worse." He moves to the window beside me. "Florence was a heist. This is a rescue from people who won'thesitate to hurt Vivianne if they think it serves their purposes. And you want to add recovering the Swan on top of that?"
"The pendant is important—and this may be our only chance to retrieve it."
