“So that means I’m . . .”

“The legitimate heir, yes. But my father didn’t know that. Eli was a bit of a playboy and no one knew he was married. So at first you were considered illegitimate. Nothing to worry about. Just a bastard.”

Lynell frowns and crosses her legs, watching Zach talk with a tilted head. He occasionally looks around, as if to make sure they are not being overheard. “But I’m not?”

Zach nods. “My father found a marriage license dated a month before your assumed conception. It shouldn’t have mattered, but a few of the rebels were starting to spread rumors that my father was a bastard and hence not the heir to the Registration. There wasn’t much traction to it, but Dad freaks out any time there’s a threat to his control. So, when he found out about you, he panicked. If anyone figured out who you are, then maybe you’d one day take control of the Registration. You're legitimate. He’s not.”

“But if I could possibly . . . ‘take his throne,’” she says, making air quotes, “why not just have me killed?” Lynell asks, leaning forward so her chin is resting in her hand.

“He needs the code.”

“And after he gets it . . .”

“You’ll have to go.”

Lynell flinches at the words. “What’s the second thing the code does?” Zach is quiet for a moment and Lynell glowers. “Price.”

He grimaces. “You know the Registration is well protected.”

Lynell shrugs.

“There is one database where every Registration is filed,” Zach explains. “Only those Registrations in that database are legit. There are multiple digital barriers and only a handful of people can access it. That’s because in the beginning, people would hack it to add a name to the list or take their own name off. Some would hack it and sell parts of the list, or fake lists, to the public. So, Grandfather hired a whole team of people to make the Registration impenetrable.”

Lynell watches Zach get up and pace as he explains.

“The Registration laws prescribe that the system and all its defenses are updated annually, which also effectively changes the ‘language,’” he makes air quotes, “it’s written in. Which is why the Registration works so well and has never been hacked. It’s perhaps the most complex software system there is. But Grandfather, always thinking ahead, built in an exit strategy. To be sure he would always have sole control over the Registration, he created a code.”

Zach sits facing Lynell and sets a pillow in his lap.

“Think of the Registration database as a large house. Every room is locked, and to get to the center of the house, where the lists are, whether to add a name illegally or take one off or release all the stored information to the public, you must unlock every door in the building. But each door has its own key which is held by only one person. Most of those people are either dead, don’t know what key they hold, or have lost the key. It’s pretty much impossible to get to that center room. Unless . . .” He pauses and raises an eyebrow, as if expecting Lynell to finish his sentence. She doesn’t.