Robbie sniffled, his voice shaky. "Really?"


    "Of course," Sofia said gently.


    She ran her finger along the window sill. "It''s the weekend tomorrow and the day after. Be good, stay home, and wait for your dad toe back. I''ll talk to him for you."


    After hanging up, Sofia couldn''t help but hum a little tune.


    Reese had lost the baby. With how much Sebastian cared about that child, he''d definitely me her for not protecting it. He''d start resenting her, maybe get fed up entirely.


    If that happened, things between her and Sebastian would go back to how they were before.


    Or maybe, just maybe, things would get even better. Who knew?


    But the next morning, as soon as Sofia walked into ckOak, she spotted Reese stepping out of the elevator, looking totally fine.


    Sofia studied Reese''s face, searching for any sign that she''d just gone through a miscarriage. But there was nothing-no trace of it at all.


    A chill crept up Sofia''s spine. What was going on?


    Was it possible Reese hadn''t lost the baby at all?


    Reese noticed Sofia staring, gave her a polite nod, then turned and walked straight into theb.


    She had zero time or energy to waste on Sofia today. de''s first round of data needed to be finished, and she had to sync it with The Vault''s system.


    Right after lunch, Reese finished the iteration data and knocked on the door of Sofia''sb.


    L opened it. Reese nced inside, but Sofia was nowhere to be seen.


    "Where''s Sofia?" she asked. "I''ve got the data ready. She needs to help integrate it with The Vault."


    L crossed her arms and leaned against the door. "She''s out with Mr. Ratcliff at the Mindwave conference. If you need her, you''ll have to wait until she''s back."


    Reese frowned. "Can you call her and ask her toe back? This is urgent. We can''t afford any dys."


    L shrugged. "Not happening. Mr. Ratcliff asked her to go himself."


    "If it''s that important, talk to him."


    Reese didn''t bother arguing. She went to the break room, unblocked Sebastian''s number, and called.


    The phone rang again and again—just that annoying busy signal.


    She didn''t know how many times she tried before someone finally picked up. It was Sofia''s voice on the other end. "Who is this? Sebastian''s busy right now. If you have a message, I can pass it on."


    Reese froze for a second, surprised Sebastian would let Sofia touch his phone.


    She remembered one time, when Sebastian was in the shower and his phone wouldn''t stop ringing. She''d picked it up for him, and he''de out looking pissed, telling her not to touch his phone ever again.


    Reese took a slow breath. "It''s Reese. Sofia, the de data is ready. I need you back here to sync it with The Vault."


    "I''m busy right now. How about you wait until Sebastian and I are done?" Click. The call ended.


    Reese stared at her phone, forcing herself to breathe slowly and keep calm. Everyone in the development team had pulled so many all-nighters just to get this data ready. They still had to runpatibility tests with The Vault before they could even start on the next steps.


    If Sofia didn''te back now, who knew how many more sleepless nights the team would have to endure just to catch up?


    In the corner, Annie was quietly sketching. She picked up on the tension and looked up. "Are you upset?"


    "I''m okay, honey. I can handle it."


    Reese ruffled Annie''s hair, gave her a reassuring smile, and left the break room. She went back to Sofia''sb and knocked again.


    "I already told you, she''s not here. Whatever it is, wait until she''s back," L said, sounding annoyed as she yanked the door open.


    Reese ignored her, squeezed past, and sat down at Sofia''sputer.


    "What are you doing?" L''s tone shot up. "This is all confidential. You don''t have permission to use herputer. If something goes wrong, who''s going to be responsible?"


    Reese''s fingers flew across the keyboard. "If anything happens, I''ll take the me. Do you even get that de is going to be used on the battlefield? Every second we waste here puts soldiers at risk out there."


    In less than half an hour, Reese figured out The Vault''s operating system, pulled up the de data, and started the integration.


    The progress bar was only halfway when theb door opened again.


    Reese''s hands froze on the keyboard. She looked up, eyes wide with shock.