"I'll be down in my office, should you need anything."

My ringing phone stirs me back to consciousness, and when I blink, I realize I must have fallen asleep in the chair at my desk. A quick glance at the clock on the wall confirms it's just past midnight. I'm usually wide-awake at this time, but since I've been keeping Ivy's hours, keeping watch over her, I've only managed a few hours of sleep at a time in the chair across from the bed. I am too fearful of losing control to sleep next to her, yet I don't want to be away from her.

Tonight, my body made the decision for me, and I am finding it difficult to rouse myself.

I reach for my phone, which has now gone silent, checking the screen. There are two missed calls from Judge, and a text message that simply tells me he found something.

I find it odd that he'd be up so late, digging through anything related to my problems. But I have a notion that Mercedes probably gave him hell once they got back to his house this evening. Perhaps he needed the distraction.

I reach for the bottle of scotch on my desk and take a long drink, soothing the dryness in my throat. When I return Judge's call, he answers on the first ring.

"Hello."

He sounds a little drunk, which is unlike him.

"My sister hasn't been giving you too much difficulty, has she?"

A long sigh is answer enough, but he replies as coolly as he always does. "Nothing I can't handle."

"It sounds like she did a fine job of making both of our nights unpleasant." I stretch my neck.

"Well, I am sorry for that," he responds. "I thought she would behave herself better. She was warned, and she has been punished for upsetting your wife."

"That isn't why you called though," I venture.

"No, I didn't call to discuss the ever-changing temperaments of women," he chuckles. "I've been digging through those files you sent and accessing some of the legal records from The Tribunal."

This information has me sitting up straighter. Judge's profession grants him access to The Tribunal's legal recordings. Something I myself do not have.

"What did you find?"

"I thought it strange that some of the names on those files you sent me are from members who have been excommunicated, so I followed those leads. As far as most of The Society is aware, they were found treasonous for one reason or another, and nobody blinked an eye when they were removed. But there was a common thread there."

"What was it?" I ask.