Chapter 42

After the three teenagers depart, Keres, Ace, and Romeo emerge from hiding and refocus on their plan to take Theo Wynn. Romeo confirms Theo is in his office; Ace reasserts the mission and warns Keres to call out if anything happens. Determined but anxious, Keres separates to approach Theo’s office.

Keres enters the windowless room and realizes too late it is not an office but a panic room outfitted with a large refrigerator and multiple monitors. Theo detects her approach in the screens, tackles her, and triggers hidden mechanisms that lock a reinforced steel door, sealing them in together.

Outweighing and pinning Keres, Theo disarms her, mocks her, and denies any recognition of her mother, Kendra. He spews misogynistic contempt, admitting he “sells whores,” and threatens escalating violence. Ace and Romeo arrive and pound on the exterior door, but the reinforced barrier holds.

Theo boasts that a button will summon armed men to kill Ace and Romeo while he remains safe inside. He continues his assault and taunts that Keres’s friends will hear her screams. Refusing to give him the satisfaction, Keres stays silent and warns Ace and Romeo to get out before they are ambushed.

When the banging stops, Theo suggests her allies abandoned her. Rage and resolve surge in Keres; recognizing she is isolated in the panic room, she prepares to face Theo alone, even as the broader threat looms outside.