Chapter 11

Cassie wakes to Sloane, who has spent the night modeling the campus crime scene from the leaked video. Cassie follows Sloane to the basement, where Sloane has recreated the setting with a modified car, rope, and a crash dummy, encoding precise details from the footage.

Together, Cassie and Sloane reason that the victim was posed elsewhere, then transported: the rope runs through the sunroof and the car likely descended a hidden slope from nearby woods. They question how the body stayed stable during movement.

Agent Veronica Sterling arrives, supplies the missing piece—that the body was weighted—and confronts them about using leaked material and reconstructing an active crime scene. Cassie tries to shield Sloane, but Sloane bluntly reveals that Dean thinks the case resembles his father’s.

Sterling demands they drop the case—no modeling, profiling, or hacking. She explains the Bureau’s compromise with Briggs: Dean would get a home, guardian, and training, but only work cold cases, not active ones. She criticizes exposing Dean to triggering material and emphasizes the rules.

When Sloane protests that simulations are how she copes, Sterling reiterates the ban for this case and warns Cassie that if they can’t follow instructions, they—and the entire program—are a liability. The confrontation makes clear Sterling’s personal stake and the program’s precarious standing.