The voice cut out as suddenly as it had begun.
For several seconds, nobody moved. Silence rushed back into the foundation, heavy and uncomfortable, broken only by the faint hum of the backup generator starting downstairs.
Marcus Vance.
His name hung in the air like smoke.
Zara appeared in the doorway. Her face was pale, but her expression was firm.
“My uncle,” she said quietly. “I should have known he'd eventually come after us.”
Nobody interrupted her.
“He always believed my grandfather was too soft. He thought Arthur and Silas were too distracted fighting each other to understand what was happening around them. Marcus has been waiting in the shadows for years, watching everything collapse. He never wanted to save the old Circle. He wanted to rebuild it in his own image.”
“And he
