He shook his head. “We’re called Osiris’s Vault for a reason. Our shit is locked down tight. Those files are gone for good. There’s no way to recover them.”

I felt so lost at that moment. My sister needed my help, and there wasn’t a damned thing I could do for her.

“The other thing I can tell you is that your sister wrote messages to three people,” Todd added.

I took a breath. If Caroline had written to me, she’d surely sent a message to our father as well. “Let me guess: Ryan Crawley?”

“Yeah. I didn’t print that one out because I figured he’s family, and he can show it to you. I don’t need more trouble.”

“Oh,” I said, disappointed but unwilling to spill the truth, which was this: I was more likely to visit the moon than see any message Caro sent our father. She had always been close to him. When she’d had to choose between us, she’d taken his side. “Was the other one to Theo Thraxton?”

Todd shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t know. In the name field, your sister put an X.”

“Like X marks the spot?” I asked. Heathcliff was the only alias I remembered her using for Theo.

Todd shrugged. “I figured you’d know. I wrote down the email address for you.” He handed me another piece of paper. “With the message.”

My hands shook as I unfolded the page. There was Caroline’s third message in black and white:

If I fail, you have to do it. I am putting all of my faith and trust in you. My son’s future depends on it.

“What the hell?” I asked aloud.

“It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Todd said. “It’s spooky as fuck, right?”

It was, and it tightened the knot in the pit of my stomach. What had my sister been up to before she died?

CHAPTER 8 DEIRDRE

CHAPTER 8

DEIRDRE

That evening, I had energy to burn, so I went to my dojo to punch and kick the heavy bag until it gave in. It was too late for a class, but Sensei Higashi kept the dojo open until eleven for students who wanted to train on their own. He was in a corner, jumping rope so fast you couldn’t see the cord, though it cracked against the splintery wooden floor now and again. I was working on the bag when my best friend walked in. I caught sight of Reagan in the mirror.

“How’d you know I would be here?” I asked her.

“Where else would you be on the day of your sister’s funeral?” she answered. “You’re nothing if not predictable.”