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“I should be out there,” I growl, heat bubbling under my skin. “Hunting Javier. Stopping him from hurting anyone else. Instead, I’m stuck here like some twisted fucking pet while people die.”

And I can’t even say his last name anymore—not now. Not after learning Rule carries it too.Reyes.That word used to burn like gasoline on my tongue, used to ignite me with purpose. But now I can’t force it past my lips anymore, not when it tastes like betrayal. Now it feels like a noose I didn’t see tightening.

It belongs to both the monster I have been hunting and the man who held me like he could rewrite my bones. They share the same blood, the same name, and suddenly, everything I thought was black and white starts bleeding into shades I hate myself for seeing.

Rule pushes off the wall, arms dropping to his sides. “You need to trust us.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I snarl. “Trust you?”

He steps closer, tone deceptively calm. “Sometimes you don’t have to do everything yourself, Seanna. We already have a plan for Javier.”

That stops me. Not because I believe him—but because the audacity is fucking unreal.

But then the fire roars back, hotter than ever. “It’s too late now. You’ve wasted time I didn’t have. Max will find me. He’s the best hacker we’ve got. He’ll burn this whole place down to bring me back.”

Ruin laughs.

Not amused. Not gentle.

Dark. Low. Almost pitying.

“Max is good,” he says. “I’ll give him that.”

I roll my eyes, scoffing loud enough to echo. “I’ve known Max my whole life. The man’s a fucking legend in cyber intelligence. You’re just a psycho in a mask.”

I lift my chin. “He’s more than good. He’s the best. You seriously think he won’t find me?”

Ruin chuckles low in his throat, the sound scraping against something inside me. “He’s not better than me.”

My eyes narrow. “You wish.”

“I don’t have to wish.” His voice is calm, but his eyes behind the mask feel too focused. Too precise. “Iknow.”

I scoff again. “Please.”

Ruin leans forward in the chair slightly, like he’s about to tell me a secret I won’t survive. “Because Max taught me everything I know.”

That hits like a gut punch.

I stare at him, lips parting—but nothing comes out. I blink, heart stalling in my chest.

“What?”

His voice is quieter now. Not mocking. Not cruel. Just final.

“My name is Huxley Vaughn,” he says.

My stomach drops.

No.

No, that can’t be right.

“Vaughn?” I whisper, the name tasting foreign in my mouth despite how many times I’ve said it in passing. Max’s full name—Max Vaughn. My parents’ best friend.

My fucking godfather.

Ruin—Huxley—nods once. Just once. Like he knows what that name means to me. Like he’s been waiting for the moment it would detonate inside me.