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Chapters (53)
  1. Dedication
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Epilogue
  50. Preview of Malice
  51. Preview of Incognito
  52. Acknowledgments
  53. About the Author

“Goonies always say live,” Stewart says.

“No!” My eyes widen, and all three of them bust up laughing.

“She passed,” Sophia says.

“We think the quote changed sometime during the Positivity Movement of the 20Y0s,” Stewart says.

“Goonies never say die,” Rayelle and Sophia say at the same time.

“I can’t believe you guys know that movie,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s ancient.”

“Stewart told us you were a fan,” Sophia says. “Which is a weird coincidence because we’ve seen it dozens of times.”

In awe that I’ve found my tribe, I smile and add my hand to the pile.

“Always say die, never say live.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

January 2, 20X6, Keystone

Exiting the Acropolis, I tell Rayelle, Stewart, and Sophia I have secret heist research to do and promise to meet them for dinner. We part ways, and I go straight to my secret library. With Garrett and the heist demanding my full attention, I’m eager to get to the end of my journal. I’m ready to move on.

February 21, 20X5

Truth: Nothing can tear me down. There’s always a way. I’m a survivor.

No goodbyes. No explanations. My parents confiscated my devices, changed my passwords, and shipped me to Savannah, where I was to film Unseen, a low-budget movie targeting the Maker market by using physical locations instead of green screens. According to the Myrna-bot who had taken over manning my Network feeds, I was “doing it for the art.” They had officially turned me into the virtual daughter they’d always wanted.

In some ways, it was a relief to put my Network feed on autopilot, but I was also cut off from Adam’s stream, and I was desperate for contact. I at least wanted to say goodbye. The moment Bernard—the robo-guard assigned to keep me under constant surveillance—deposited me in my hotel room, locking the door from outside and taking up residence in the threshold, I frantically searched for a communication device. The hotel was a few years past its prime and—probably thanks to my parents—there was no Network access, no screens, no computer, and no VR in my room. There was only a desktop robot, who asked me if I wanted room service before going on the fritz and sounding the wake-up alarm. The buzzer shrieking in my ears, I slammed the robot against the floor until he shut up.