Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The final sentence from Evelyn's letter remained on the screen.
The key was made to identify the next Subject Zero.
Silence swallowed the lobby.
Rain hammered against the shattered entrance.
Thunder rolled across the night sky.
And every eye in the room remained fixed on Caleb.
The bronze key rested in his hand.
Cold.
Ancient.
Suddenly far more dangerous than anyone had imagined.
Nathan broke the silence first.
"What exactly does that mean?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Or perhaps because nobody wanted to.
Caleb slowly lowered the phone.
His expression remained calm.
But Elara knew him well enough now to recognize the tension in his eyes.
The uncertainty.
The fear.
For the first time tonight, Caleb looked genuinely shaken.
Arth
