Chapter 850
At the Vance Estate, Travis sat in his room staring at his phone. A message had just come through on the encrypted app.
Unknown: Phase 2 initiated. Acquire the Oracle Client List and the access codes. Physical copy required. Tonight.
Travis’s fingers hovered over the screen. He typed back: “Understood. Tonight.”
He looked at his reflection in the dark screen. He looked like a man who was already dead.
The greenhouse at the Vance Estate was a humid jungle of exotic plants. Orchids of every color hung from the ceiling, their roots dangling in the misty air. In the center, Julian stood before a table of black orchids, holding a pair of silver pruning shears.
Skye and Alistair walked in. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and chlorophyll.
“He’s in the study,” Julian said without looking up, snipping a wilted bloom. “I left a folder labeled ‘Oracle — Top Secret’ on the desk. It’s filled with gibberish and a recipe for lasagna, encoded in binary.”
“Did he take the bait?” Skye asked.
Julian nodded toward a tablet propped against a terracotta pot. “Watch.”
On the screen, a black-and-white feed showed Travis in the study. He was frantically photographing the documents with a button camera on his shirt cuff.
D𝘰𝘸𝗇l𝗼a𝖽 P𝘋𝘍𝘴 𝖿𝗿e𝗲 о𝗻 g𝖺𝗹ո𝘰𝘷e𝗅𝗌.𝘤𝘰m
“He’s good,” Alistair admitted grudgingly. “His hands are steady.”
“He’s desperate,” Skye corrected.
“I found something else,” Julian said, setting down the shears. He wiped his hands on a rag and picked up a file folder. “About Celeste.”
Skye took the folder. “What is it?”
“Her background,” Julian said. “Before she was a CEO, and before she was a Liquidator for the Syndicate, she was a recruit in the same black-ops program that trained Caleb. She washed out due to ‘excessive volatility,’ but she was trained by the same handler. That’s why she’s so effective — she combines corporate ruthlessness with tactical tradecraft.”
Skye frowned. “So she knows how we think.”
“She knows how you think,” Julian corrected. “She knows you’ll do anything for your friends. That’s why she took Parker and Victoria. It’s not just business — it’s a trap designed specifically for Skye Sterling.”
The silence in the greenhouse was heavy. The only sound was the steady dripping of condensation from the glass roof.
“Then we spring it,” Skye said, her voice hard. “But on our terms.”
“Felix is ready,” Alistair said. “He’s been briefed on the bodyguard role. He knows what to do.”
“We need to move on Travis tonight,” Skye said. “We can’t let him send those photos. Even if they are fake, it proves he’s active.”
“How?” Alistair asked.
“A game,” Skye said, her eyes narrowing. “Travis thinks he’s a player? Let’s invite him to the table.”
“Poker,” she continued. “Tonight. In the library. High stakes. We invite Travis and make him feel like part of the inner circle.”
“And then we crush him,” Alistair finished.
“Exactly.”
They walked back to the main house. In the living room, Skye put on a bright, effortless smile.
“Travis!” she called out.