“Don't be afraid. It's me.”
Victor settled me against his chest. His heartbeat was steady beneath my ear. He wrapped his coat over my slip. Cold air and pine clung to the fabric.
Outside, the two guards slumped against the wall, unconscious. Every corridor camera was dark. Victor carried me past them to the elevator.
The elevator mirror showed Victor in his dark coat and my bandaged feet hanging over his arm. He watched my breathing instead of the floor numbers.
He placed a thick manila envelope in my hands. Its weight pulled my wrists into my lap.
“Lily's bank transfers to the lab. The original, undoctored reports from Felix's server. Recordings. It's all there.”
I looked at the envelope, then at him. Why had he waited?
“The System has rules,” he said. “If I'd interfered before you
