Vera stepped back, her vision blurring. “You’re saying they— They used me. Used us.”

Nicolas reached out but she flinched away. “Vera—”

“No!” Her voice cracked through the chamber, sharp as glass. “You knew, didn’t you? Somewhere in that perfect brain of yours, you knew something didn’t add up.”

He didn’t deny it. His silence was enough.

She turned away, trembling, staring through the glass tanks as if they could answer the questions her heart was too afraid to ...