Joy's grip on my hand tightened, but her voice stayed steady. "Why don't we just get this over with?"
Victoria snorted, a sound that was almost amused, and flicked her cigarette into the wind. The ember arced through the darkness and disappeared.
"Very well," she said. "I have two conditions. Meet them, and your little fortress and its merry soldiers will be left alone."
Dad stepped forward, his voice hard. "Spit it out, Victoria."
She smiled faintly, like she'd been waiting for him to snap. "You were always so impatient, Byron. So ready to move on to the next thing."
Her eyes glinted with something private, something bitter.
Dad's jaw tightened, but he didn't respond.
Victoria pulled out a silver cigarette case, slow and deliberate, and slid out a fresh cigarette. She lit it with a lighter that matched the case, the flame briefly illuminating her face, then shook it out.
"My first request," she said, exhaling smoke, "is that you give up every bit of information about Project Trueborn."
I felt Dad go rigid beside me.
Project Trueborn.
I'd never heard of it.
But from the way Dad reacted—shoulders tensing, hands curling into fists—it was something big. Something he'd kept buried.
"And the second request?" Dad asked through gritted teeth.
Victoria took her time. Another long pull from the cigarette. Another exhale.
Then she turned her gaze back to Joy.
"You sever all ties with Joy."
The words hit like a punch.
I didn't understand.
Joy's hand went slack in mine, then tightened again, almost painful.
"What?" she breathed.
Victoria smiled—not warm, not kind. Just satisfied.
"What do I have to do with this?" Joy demanded, her voice rising.
Victoria shook her head slowly, like she was dealing with a child who didn't understand the rules.
"It was an accident, really," she said. "Pure coincidence. I didn't even know you were here until I got the first photographs of you and Micah walking to your condo."
My stomach dropped.
She'd had us followed the whole time.
From the beginning.
"Why?" Joy asked again, her voice breaking now. "Why me?"
Victoria took another long pull from her cigarette, holding the smoke in her lungs before exhaling slowly.
