Sage's eyes lingered on the Detox Pills in Drew's hand. The smile that had rested on his face slipped away, fading piece by piece until nothing remained. "It won't happen again," he said. His tone was flat, his words stripped of warmth. His expression turned cold once more. He plucked the pills from Drew's palm, tossed two back like they were a prize, and strode off with his men at his heels. He and Theresa belonged to different worlds. Sage's hunger was for power. Not just any power, but the kind that stood above all others, sharp and merciless. If Theresa had not guarded herself from the beginning, if she had freed him without suspicion, he would have seized the great alliance. He would have ruled it through storms of blood and fire. Between them lay a chasm that could never be crossed. On that land, he and Theresa could never be friends. Here, their divide was even sharper. They could pretend to be allies, but only for a short span of days. A lifetime apart, and only these few days of fragile peace. Theresa returned to her room. She summoned Quentin. She gave him his task with precision. "Check every camera," she ordered. "Plant devices in them. Hide explosives as well." Quentin nodded hard, again and again. Theresa's mind itched to use Unseen again, to slip into Workshop 2 for more answers. But her power had limits, and wasting it now would be dangerous. She bit down the urge and sat still, her mind racing through every possibility.Workshop 1 could be dismissed. Workshop 2 was under Kobe's control, and he had been given the order to move the prisoner. Workshop 1 had nothing to do with it. That left Workshop 2 or Workshop 3. Workshop 3 was a fortress. She could file her reports and get into Workshop 2. But Workshop 3 only opened when cargo shipments moved. The next shipment was three days away. It was too late. She looked at the page in her hand, her chest rising and falling with a heavy breath. She prayed her aunt was inside Workshop 2. But if her aunt was trapped in Workshop 3, she would take the risk. On that day, she would slip in with the transfer, break her free, and fight her way out. Theresa set her pen to paper, drawing plan after plan, her mind running without pause. She and Quentin worked together until the night was swallowed whole. The next morning, she entered Workshop 2 with her cover story in place. She told them she was there to replace faulty equipment. Once inside, she cloaked herself in disguise and went straight to the parachute section to find Lilian. The factory floor was drowned in silence. Hands moved with stiff rhythm, eyes locked on the lines of fabric. Everyone knew what had happened the day before. Kobe had forced their leader to test a parachute. The man had died in front of them all.Fear hung in the air like a weight. They only had eyes for their work. Theresa spotted Lilian working at her station. She stood behind her quietly, watching. Not a single person turned to notice. Not even the patrolling supervisors. She studied the endless stream of labor, the exhaustion in every movement. Waiting here was wasting her disguise. Her eyes locked on Lilian's tag. It showed her dorm number. Theresa turned and slipped away, her steps silent as she made for the dorms. The living quarters were strict, but compared to the cruelty of the overseers, the rooms were decent. Each worker had a single room of their own. Theresa waited there until nightfall. At ten, the shifts changed. The machines never stopped, but the workers traded places. Lilian dragged her tired body into the room after a long day. She opened the door and froze. Her eyes widened when she saw Theresa inside. "Theresa." "Quiet," Theresa whispered, pressing a finger to her lips. Lilian nodded quickly and shut the door. She hurried across the room."I learned about the restricted zones," she whispered fast. "They're real." "Where?" Theresa's voice was sharp and quick. "Workshop 3. There are none in Workshop 2. Only Workshop 3. And I heard they keep a lot of people locked there." Theresa's chest tightened. Workshop 3. The place she had feared most. Now confirmed. Her brow furrowed. She needed a way inside. Before she could speak again, a knock shook the door. Her body stiffened. Her eyes sharpened. Lilian raised her hands quickly. "Don't panic. It's my husband." She cracked the door. Caleb's face appeared in the gap. She pulled him inside at once. When his eyes landed on Theresa, they lit up in surprise. "Theresa?" "It's been a while," she said with a nod. Her gaze dropped to his uniform. It bore the mark of Workshop 3. "How did you get out?" "There's only a wall between Workshop 3 and 2. We don't always stay in the same zone. Someone shifted the cameras, so we can climb over to see family. That's how I came through."