The text from the Architect sat on Jake's phone like a bomb that hadn't exploded yet.{Starting with the hospital. Your friend Lily. She's awake now. Asking for you. She has thirty minutes before my people arrive. Better hurry, Morrison. Tick tock —The Architect}Jake stood up so fast his chair rolled backward and hit the wall."I have to go," he said. "Lily. The hospital. They're going after her first."Marcus was already moving. "Magnus. Get a security team to City General. Priority one. Protect Lily Adams. Anyone who isn't hospital staff gets detained."He was on his phone before he finished the sentence. Barking orders. Mobilizing resources.Sora grabbed Jake's arm. "You're not going alone. If this is a trap—""It's definitely a trap," Jake interrupted. "But I can't just let them kill her. I can't.""Then we spring the trap together." Sora's grip tightened. "That's the deal. We don't do this alone anymore."Marcus ended his call. "Team's en route. ETA twelve minutes. Morrison, you

"No," Jake said quickly. Too quickly. "Elena was just leaving."Elena turned to face Lily. Sized her up. Took in the bandages, the sling, the hospital bracelet still on her wrist. "Actually, we were discussing lunch plans. Jake and I.""Were we?" Jake asked.Lily smiled. Sweet and dangerous. "Jake doesn't have time for lunch. He's very important now. Special Assistant to the Chairman. Very busy. Lots of responsibilities.""I'm sure he can spare thirty minutes for a friend," Elena said."I'm his friend too. Known him way longer actually.""Length of friendship doesn't equal quality of friendship."The temperature in the room was dropping. Fast. Jake could feel it."Girls," Jake interrupted. Desperate. "Please. Not now. Not here. I have actual work—"They both turned to him. Synchronized. United front despite being on opposite sides."Stay out of this," they said together.Jake's phone rang. Saved by Marcus again.{Emergency. My office. Now. It's about Derek and Maya. They've made their

She exploded forward. No warning. No telegraph. Just movement that closed the distance between them in a heartbeat. Her right fist came at Jake's face like a bullet. He jerked his head to the left. The punch missed by barely an inch. The displacement of air slapped against his cheek hard enough to sting like a wasp. 'Too close. Way too close.' Jake's left hand came up fast. He drove a palm strike toward her solar plexus. She twisted her torso at the last second. His hand connected with her ribs instead. The impact felt like hitting wood instead of flesh. The artificial Heart was making her denser. Tougher. Stronger than any normal human should be. 'She's faster than I expected. The Heart is compensating for her lack of training.' Maya's knee came up fast and vicious, aimed straight at his groin. No honor in this fight. No rules. Jake shifted his hips just in time. He took the knee on his thigh instead. The impact sent pain shooting down his entire leg. He gritted his teeth and

Derek stared at him. Purple light pulsing in his eyes. But something human flickered behind it."I want my family back," Derek whispered. The layers in his voice fading slightly. "Want my father out of prison. Want my company restored. Want my life back the way it was. Want to matter again. To be somebody instead of nothing.""I can't give you that," Jake said. Being honest. Being direct. "Nobody can. Your father committed actual crimes. Your company made illegal decisions. That's not on me. That's on your family.""But you helped!" Derek's voice rose. The corruption surging back. "You pushed! You used your connection to Mr. Vale! To Sora! You destroyed us faster than we would've fallen naturally!""Maybe I did," Jake admitted. "Maybe I pushed harder than I needed to. But that doesn't change what your family did. What you did. Actions have consequences. That's how the world works.""Like this?" Derek held up the switch. Shook it. "Like th

It wasn't solid. Wasn't physical in any normal sense. It existed somewhere between code and matter. Between information and reality. Between concept and flesh.The shape looked vaguely like a person if Jake squinted hard enough through the pain. Tall. Impossibly tall. Maybe seven feet or maybe twenty depending on the angle. It wore what might have been a suit or might have been data rendered as fabric. The material rippled like water but held form like steel.Its face was hidden behind something that could have been a mask or could have been its actual face. The features shifted constantly. An eye where a mouth should be. A nose that became an ear. Lips that dissolved into smooth skin. Never quite the same configuration twice. Never quite solid enough to pin down.Just presence. Weight pressing down on everything. Wrongness that made Jake's teeth ache and his Hearts recoil inside his chest like animals sensing a predator.The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. Not spoken