Page 134 of Vows of Ruin

Torque is the first to speak. “You good?” he asks, voice low, steady.

“No,” I say honestly. “But I’m here.”

He nods once. It’s enough.

Margot gestures toward the screens. “We’ve pulled everything Liam left behind. He scrubbed most digital footprints, but he wasn’t good enough to hide them all.”

Elias swivels in his chair, exhaustion carved into the lines under his eyes. “He cut out the tracker, but we got a short burst of movement data before that. One last ping on the east side of town before it came back here and went dark.”

Riot stops pacing. “Factory district. Abandoned for years. Tons of places to hide someone. Tons of places to… do other things. “

A muscle jumps in Max’s jaw. My fingers curl around the table edge to keep them steady. “What else?”

Margot taps her keyboard. “We found a paper trail. Small things, but they add up. Purchases under fake names, bulk lumber, fabric, paint, furniture, metalwork supplies. The kind used to build something specific.”

A sick twist moves through my stomach. “Build what?” I ask.

Elias clicks a few keys and an image fills the main screen, a rough layout of a massive warehouse. Rooms. Partitions. False walls. Soundproofed sections. Max swears under his breath. Torque mutters something that sounds like a threat to someone’s ancestors.

Riot’s voice breaks the silence. “That bastard built a maze.”

I swallow hard. “For what purpose? What does it lead to?”

Margot’s expression goes dark as she clicks again. A smaller file opens, unencrypted, unhidden, almost like he wanted us to find it. A photo loads. My blood stops moving. It’s my childhood bedroom. Perfectly recreated. Same quilt pattern. Same chipped dresser. Same stuffed fox I loved until the seams frayed.

My breath catches, shallow and sharp. Max’s hand finds mine beneath the table.

Elias says quietly. “This was uploaded two days ago. Sebastian’s taunt. He built this for you.”

Everyone looks at me. I keep my voice steady by force alone. “So he wants me back in that room,” I say. “He wants me cornered. Frail little Wrenley again.”

Riot’s fists clench. “Over my dead body.”

Torque’s glare could split stones. “He wants a reenactment of something.”

I nod once. “He wants control.”

Max’s voice is low, rough. “He wants you.”

Doc breaks the silence. “This wasn’t made overnight. He’s been building toward this for months or years.”

A hum fills my skull, the beginning of rage, quiet and precise. “What about Liam?” I ask.

Wrecker shifts. “We tracked fresh tire marks near the factory district. Could be him. Could be Sebastian’s men.”

Margot adds, “We also found blood on a piece of metal outside one building.”

My pulse stutters.

Max begins. “Sparrow—”

“No,” I cut in sharply. “Tell me.”

Elias looks directly at me. “We don’t know if it’s his.”

My jaw locks.

“But the pattern,” Elias continues softly, “Suggests if it was his, he was moved while unconscious.”