Conner’s back arches and his eyes bulge. His shaking hands immediately go to his inside blazer pocket and he pulls out a vial.

He struggles to uncork it and brings it to his lips, taking an unsteady swig. I immediately snatch the vial from his grasp and watch him closely to make sure it’s the antidote and not more poison.

Slowly relief spreads across his face. Aarya’s eyes light up like this is the best game she’s played in ages.

I run for Ash and kneel down next to him, carefully lifting his head. “Hold on. Just hold on, Ash. Don’t you dare die.” I pour the rest of the antidote into his mouth and he chokes.

The moment I’m sure he’s swallowed it, I move to his hands and feet, slicing the restraints. Aarya watches Conner as he desperately tries to stop the blood he’s losing from the knife wound.

“Holding a late-night assessment session, Dr. Conner?” says a familiar voice, and Aarya and I look up. Blackwood stands in the open doorway with two guards behind her, taking note of the entire scene. She steps over Felix’s passed-out body, but the guards don’t follow her in.

I’m not sure if I’m relieved to see her or if I hate her for showing up when it’s all over. Ash did say she would assume no responsibility for it one way or the other.

“I’ll take it from here, girls,” Blackwood says.

Ash pushes himself up into a sitting position, some of the pain gone from his eyes, but he looks totally spent. I try to help him stand, but he shakes his head and does it himself.

“Stubborn,” I say under my breath.

I stay next to him to make sure he doesn’t fall. He seems to be regaining his strength by the second, but he’s still wobbly.

“I’m going to take this with me,” Aarya says, and grabs Felix’s ankles.

“That depends,” Blackwood says. “Was he helping you or was he helping Conner?”

“Neither, really,” Aarya says, and for the first time ever, she looks vulnerable. “He stumbled into a situation he couldn’t handle and got knocked out like a dumb—” Aarya stops herself and coughs.

Blackwood turns to me.

I look at Ash. He was once on the wrong side of this, too. And it didn’t stop me from doing everything I could to save his life. He could easily have been in the position Felix is in right now.

I make eye contact with Aarya and nod. “It’s like Aarya says. He just got caught in the middle. Conner has a bad habit of blackmailing people.”

Blackwood nods at Aarya, who doesn’t lose a second. She pulls Felix into the hallway and past the guards, whistling as she goes.

Blackwood makes her way to Conner, who’s dragging himself across the floor, leaving a trail of blood.

“One way or another we’re going to find your father,” Conner says through clenched teeth. “And when we do, you’ll wish I’d killed you in this room.”