Chapter 26 – Mike
When I receive the text that morning, I know immediately it’s from Ellie.
I don’t know how I know. There’s no name attached to it. No message I can read. Just a block of deeply encrypted characters sitting on my screen like a riddle.
But something in my gut locks onto it.
Ellie.
My pulse spikes.
I’m already moving before I fully think it through. I grab my keys and head straight for the car, praying to every god I don’t believe in that she’s alive…and that this isn’t some kind of last message.
The engine roars to life, and I tear down the road.
My brothers and I are already assembling a small strike team for my flight to Romania in two days. Every part of me hates waiting that long, but I also understand something the old version of me never did.
Improper planning is a setup for failure.
And if I fail…Ellie dies.
So we prepare. Carefully. Methodically.
But the moment that message appears, patience evaporates.
I storm into Timofey’s house without knocking.
He looks up from his laptop as I stride in. “What—”
I shove the phone into his hands. “Decode this.”
Timofey frowns at the screen. “What is it?”
“Ellie,” I say.
That’s all the explanation he needs.
Within seconds, he’s typing, pulling the data apart, running it through programs and decryption tools that might as well be sorcery to me.
Minutes pass.
Then an hour.
I pace the room like a caged animal, every worst-case scenario clawing through my head.
Finally, Timofey leans back slowly.
His expression has changed.
“What?” I snap.
He turns the laptop toward me. “They’re coordinates.”
My heart slams against my ribs.
“Precise ones,” he adds. “Not a general region. Exact location.”
A map fills the screen.
