She imagined all the people sitting in their homes as the news told them the atrocities Kovit had committed, their eyes glued to the screen as they watched the videos that Henry sent to INHUP. In her mind’s eye, the citizens swarmed over Kovit like a horde of zombies, hands grabbing, hungry for state-sanctioned blood. Kovit would flick out his switchblade, but it wouldn’t be enough to fight them all off. Eventually he’d be crushed by the press of bodies, and then he’d be the one screaming in videos posted online.

Nita forced her mind away from that image. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Nita? What is it? Is something wrong?” Kovit asked, leaning over and trying to see what she was staring at.

She winced. A part of her wanted to hide it, to shove her phone in her pocket, lie, and say it was nothing. Pretend that everything was all right. But she wouldn’t let herself be that person. She wouldn’t hide this from Kovit, she wouldn’t become the manipulating information hoarder her mother was.

So she raised her head, and tried to tell him. But the words wouldn’t come, they caught in her throat like she’d swallowed an egg whole.

She held out her phone, wordless, and he looked down at the notification. She’d only looked at the top, where the picture was, too scared to scroll down and see what details they’d put in about him. He looked a bit younger in the photo, maybe fifteen or sixteen, but it was very distinctly him. In the picture, his eyes were narrowed at something offscreen, his head tilted at a three-quarter angle, and the slightest hint of a sneer pulled at his features. It was not a flattering photo.

He stared at the picture a long moment, his face terrifyingly still. Then he leaned against the concrete barrier protecting people from falling into the water and slowly slid down so he was crouched against it, a small, soft keening sound emanating from his throat.

Nita knelt beside him, hovering, wishing she could do something but not knowing what to do.

“I’m sorry,” she finally managed, her voice cracked and broken. “I’m so, so sorry.”

His face broke, that perfect stillness shattering into a million glittering shards of grief. “Why is it out early?”

“I don’t know,” Nita whispered. “It was supposed to be a week. Your sister even said that was how long verification took.” Her mind scrambled. “New evidence? Confirming evidence somehow?”

Or maybe her mother had figured out who Kovit was and pulled strings with her contacts to make it go up early.

The idea made her nauseous. But if anyone could find a way around the rules and get Kovit onto the list early, it would be her mother. A sick feeling settled in her stomach.