Riley is too quiet.
Not her usual kind of silence—the one where she's working, focused, fingers flying over the keyboard. This is different.
This is the kind of silence that makes my skin crawl. That makes my pulse stutter before my brain even catches up.
I step closer. "What is it?"
She doesn't answer. Just stares at the screen like it holds something impossible. Like the words on it changed everything.
"Riley," I snap. "Talk to me."
She flinches. Slowly, she turns to face me, and the look in her eyes hits me like a gut punch.
Fear.
Not the kind where something feels off.
The kind that's personal.
The kind that has my name written all over it.
My stomach knots. "What the hell did you find?"
She hesitates, then takes a deep breath and spins the laptop toward me.
At first, I don't understand what I'm looking at. A security log. A list of names.
And then I see mine.
Nathan Vale.
My heartbeat slams against my ribs.
Next to my name: A timestamp. A location. A red warning.
PRESENT AT CLASSIFIED EVENT. MATCHED TO RESTRICTED BIOMETRICS. HIGH SECURITY RISK.
I stop breathing.
The timestamp.
The location.
The explosion.
I take a step back as if distance will change the words. As if space will undo the impossible.
Because what I'm looking at—what it's telling me—
I was there.
But I wasn't.
I wasn't.
I force out a breath, but it's like inhaling glass. "This… this isn't right."
Riley watches me carefully, but I see it—the flicker of doubt in her eyes.
Did I do it?
I shake my head violently. "No. This is wrong. I don't remember being there. I—"
But the words stick in my throat.
Because something is wrong.
The past year has been a haze of missing time, of blackouts I blamed on exhaustion.
Pieces of memory that don't quite fit.
Could I have—?
No.
No, dammit.
I rake a hand through my hair, trying to think. Trying to make sense of this. "There has to be another explanation. The system was hacked. The data was changed. Someone—someone is setting me up."
Riley's expression hardens. "Nathan, this isn't just a document. This is biometric data. It's scanned in real-time—your retina, your gait, your damn heartbeat. If this system says you were there…"
She stops, like she doesn't want to finish the sentence.
Like she doesn't want to say what we're both thinking.
I shove the laptop away. The chair scrapes against the floor as I push to my feet, pacing.
"I don't buy it." My voice is sharp, too loud for the small room. "I don't care how airtight this looks—this isn't real."
But what if it is?
The thought slams into me, sharp and unforgiving.
I grip the desk, my knuckles white. "I need to know exactly what this means. If my data is in their system, does that mean I entered the building? That I swiped in? Or does it just mean I was scanned nearby?"
Riley frowns. "You want me to check the full logs?"
"Yes," I say, too fast, too desperate. "Because I wasn't there. And if the system says I was, I need to know how."
She hesitates. Then nods. "Give me a second."
The seconds stretch, thick with tension. My thoughts spiral. My breathing is too shallow.
Then Riley curses.
I snap to her side. "What?"
Her voice is tight. "It wasn't just a scan. Your biometrics were used to authorize access."
The floor tilts beneath me.
I exhale slowly, controlled, even though everything in me is screaming. "That's not possible."
Riley's fingers tremble slightly as she scrolls. "It gets worse."
Of course it does.
She swallows. "Your access wasn't just logged that day. It was pre-approved in the system."
I stare at her. "What does that mean?"
Her throat bobs. "It means… whoever planned this?" She meets my gaze, her eyes dark with something I don't want to name. "They expected you to be there."
My whole body goes cold.
No.
This is wrong.
This is a setup.
"Then we need to prove it," Riley says, her voice steadier now. "Because if The Oath sees this data, they won't hesitate. They'll come after you full force."
I already know that.
I know exactly what The Oath does to people they suspect of betrayal.
I've seen it.
And I won't be next.
A slow, cold realization creeps through me.
I can't just prove my innocence.
I have to disappear.
For now.
I meet Riley's eyes. "We need to move. Now."
She hesitates. "Nathan—"
"Now," I repeat.
She swears under her breath but starts packing, pulling out a burner drive to store the data.
I push down the panic clawing at my chest.
I didn't do this.
I know I didn't.
But the evidence?
It says otherwise.
And until I find out who's behind this…
I'm officially enemy number one.
As Riley shoves the last of her gear into her bag, a distant sound makes my blood go cold.
A low, rhythmic thump.
Helicopter blades.
Getting closer.
My gut twists. "They're here."
Riley freezes. "Shit."
I don't wait. I grab her arm and pull her toward the back exit.
We burst into the alley just as the first black SUV screeches to a stop at the front of the building.
I recognize the men stepping out.
The Oath doesn't send foot soldiers for something like this.
They send specialists.
I don't have time to think.
Because if they catch me—if they take me—
I'll never get the chance to clear my name.
I'll never get the chance to find the truth.
So I do the only thing I can.
I run.