Reese''s fingers tightened around her phone as she listened to Sofia. She stood in the shade just outside the hospital, sunlight flickering across her face through the leaves. Her eyebrows drew into a cold, sharp line, and her eyes were still clouded with a chill that wouldn''t fade.


    "So you think just because you got the police to arrest my mother, I''ll just sit here and do nothing?" Sofia''s voice came through the phone, rough with static and venom. "I heard Matthew''s sick. Needs a stem cell transnt, right?”


    Reese''s mind jumped to the call Matthew had gotten earlier at the hospital. Instinctively, she braced herself. "What are you trying to say?"


    "Oh, rx," Sofia replied with a cruel littleugh. "If you want Matthew to survive, you''d better go to the police and drop the case."


    "Otherwise, everything you''ve done will be for nothing."


    Reese''s eyes darkened. Why was Sofia so sure of herself? What was she counting on? If she knew Grace had already been arrested, why would she risking back now?


    Her thoughts raced, but her face gave nothing away. "I''m not dropping the case, Sofia. You know a lot more about what happened back then than you let on, don''t you?"


    “Shut up!” Sofia snapped, her voice sharp with panic and anger. “Don''t get cocky, Reese. I''ll drag you down with me. I''m taking it back everything you took from me."


    "We''ll see about that." Reese''s voice was icy calm. She didn''t wait for a reply. She hung up quickly, her swipe across the screen smooth and final.


    The phone''s screen went ck, and for a moment, Reese stared at her own reflection, her eyes cold, her lips pressed in a hard, determined line.


    Was Sofia''s backup the same person behind Grace? And if so, did that mean the real killer-the one who''d taken her mother''s life-was back in the country too?


    They''d moved fast. The donor''s disappearance was no coincidence.


    Reese didn''t hesitate. She walked back into the hospital and typed a message to Matthew,ying out everything she''d just learned from Sofia.


    Inside, Matthew sat on the hospital bed, phone pressed to his ear.


    "Boss," Patrick''s voice came through, a little breathless like he''d just run across half the city. "We found traces of ck wool fibers in the bushes outside the airport е restroom window. They''re from a high end custom suit, definitely no the donor''s clothes. More like something a professional bodyguard or an operative would wear.


    "We also tracked the car that took him. It was a ck sedan with no tes. Security cameras caught it driving away from the airport toward the suburbs, but then it disappeared into a surveince dead zone."


    Matthew''s eyes narrowed. "So we''ve lost him?"


    "...Yeah." Patrick took a shaky breath. "But I''ve expanded the search. We''rebing through every bit of surveince in the suburbs and have the local police helping too.


    "There''s still no concrete lead, but we know the donor''s still in the city. He''s being kept hidden by pros. Whoever''s behind this knows exactly what they''re doing."


    Matthew''s expression stayed calm, but his fingers tapped a steady beat on the edge of the bed. His eyes grew darker, more thoughtful.


    "What about the number? Did you trace who''s behind it?"


    "The registration''s fake." Patrick hesitated, nerves creeping into his voice. "But we tracked the money. It leads to an overseas shellpany, controlled by someone named Nathaniel Phillips."


    "I checked out all of Nathaniel''s


    exactly with when the Meyers were working overseas, twenty years ago."