I stared at the phone in my hand for a long time before I pressed the button to call Mason. My fingers shook even though I tried to steady them, the tremor betraying me no matter how tightly I curled the hands around the device. The room was quiet except for the sound of my own breathing, sharp and shallow, as if every inhale risked breaking the silence.

Stanley and Serena were a few feet away, keeping their voices low as they whispered with Nolan, who was still working at the system with his ...