Damian looking at Vessa and feeling something cold and precise settle over everything.
"What changed," he said.
"Someone warned them," Vessa said. "That night. Someone inside Malachai's operation who had a limit....who would move against a succession claim but not against a child." She paused. "They warned Lilith specifically. Gave her enough time to get the baby out before...." She stopped. "Before the rest of it."
"Who," Eve asked.
"I don't know their name," Vessa said. "I've spent twenty years trying to find it. They covered themselves completely." She paused. "What I know is that they saved your life. And that Malachai has been looking for them ever since." A pause. "Which means they're still alive. Still hidden. Still afraid of him." She looked at Eve. "Finding them would give us a witness to everything. Not just the vault. Not just the vote record. Someone who was inside the operation and watched it happen."
Eve looked at the folder.
At the fourth section.
