"He is already inside."
I shove my phone toward Julian and let the others see the moving dot on the screen. Cross House Ward. Richard's location pin slides slowly across the map like a warning dressed as technology. The second message still burns under the image.
You are already late.
Nathaniel takes the phone from my hand and studies it for three seconds before handing it back. His face is calm, but his jaw is too tight. That is how I know he is already thinking three moves ahead and hating all of them.
"He wants us to follow," Nathaniel says.
"Obviously," Julian replies. "He is not hiding. He is baiting."
Evelyn moves toward the stairwell door. "Then we take the bait before he swallows it."
Nobody argues.
We move fast. Down the final flight of stairs. Through the side exit that s
