The penthouse was silent, but it wasn't the peaceful silence of the previous month. It was the silence of a vacuum—pressurized, thin, and ready to implode. Silas had gone straight to the gym the moment they returned from the harbor, his need for physical exertion a clear sign of his internal war. Selene could hear the rhythmic, violent thud of the heavy bag echoing through the vents, a percussive reminder of his fury.

She sat in the darkened study, the gold-plated thumb drive sitting on the desk like a piece of radioactive ore.