Sofia reached for her hand. “None of that matters now because we both survived. We both escaped Keller, and now, he won’t ever have cause to talk about either of us again.”
Tears filled Lark's eyes, and she squeezed her hand. "We both made it."
"For now." The words came from Rocco. All three turned toward him. He was studying the mission through his scope. “We’re not free yet, though. I think that they figured out that Sophia is gone because they're moving now."
Dante crawled beside him, trying to lie low. The compound had come alive, and the floodlights swept across the yard while black SUVs and two transport trucks rolled into position. Mercenaries loaded crates into one vehicle and people into the other. He raised the binoculars and saw women—most of them looked like teenagers. They had their hands zip-tied behind their backs, and their heads were lowered.
"They're evacuating." Rocco nodded. "They know the church insurgence failed, and that Rafael's dead.”
"They know we have the journal." Lark's voice grew quiet. "So they're destroying evidence."
Sofia shook her head. "No." Everyone looked at her. "They always move us before Keller visits."
Dante frowned. "What do you mean?"
"He never stays in one place." She pointed toward the largest building. "There's another bunker underneath."
"How do you know?" Rocco asked.
"I cleaned it,” she said.
Rocco's eyebrows shot up. "You've been inside?"
She nodded. "Once." Her breathing became uneven. "They blindfolded us every time they moved us, but one day, my blindfold slipped."
Hope surged through Dante. “Can you get us inside?"
"I think so,” Sophia breathed.
Rocco unfolded the mission sketch from Isabella's journal and placed it beside the dirt, using a stick to redraw the layout. "Show me."
Sofia studied it for a long moment, and then she pointed. "This isn't a storage room." She tapped the lower level. "That's an elevator."
Rocco looked up. “Is it hidden?"
She nodded. "They unload trucks underground and use the elevator to transport everything to the surface."
Dante stared at the drawing. "Keller has another escape route."
"And another prison," Lark said, looking toward the mission. "My mother must have known."
"She was documenting everything," Rocco replied.
"Every location, route, and secret,” Dante said. He looked at the journal resting in Lark's lap. "She spent years starting to build the case against Keller.”
"So someone else could finish it,” Rocco said. The realization settled over all of them. Rafael hadn't sent Lark to the church simply to find answers. He'd sent her to finish Isabella's work.
Lark looked down at the worn leather cover. "My mother trusted me to finish this." She smiled faintly.
Dante wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "She believed in you."
Lark leaned into him for a brief moment before looking at Sofia. "How many guards stay underground?"
"Usually eight,” Sophia said.
"Usually?" Rocco asked.
Sofia nodded. "But Keller's here tonight."
