Chapter 4

I was called downstairs early, but the Morettis made no effort to introduce me to anyone.

Almost no one paid attention to me.

I didn't mind.

Being ignored meant I could sit quietly in a corner and review the latest data from the institute.

I was so absorbed in the microscopic reaction playing across my screen that I didn't notice anyone approaching.

Suddenly, my phone disappeared from my hand.

My heart dropped.

"What are you doing?"

I shot to my feet.

"Give it back. Now."

Elowen held my phone and looked completely unconcerned.

"Sylvana, tonight is important to the Moretti family."

She glanced around the crowded ballroom.

"We've spent all day preparing this reception for you. You refuse to help greet our guests, and now you're hiding in a corner playing with your phone?"

She smiled.

"Isn't that a little rude?"

"My phone contains classified material."

I ignored her taunts and reached for it.

"Give it back."

Elowen immediately stepped away.

Instead of returning the phone, she moved into the center of the ballroom and deliberately raised her voice.

"Sylvana, even if you don't like us, you don't have to behave like this."

Heads began turning.

"Mom and Dad invited half the city's most important people here because they wanted to welcome you into the family."

She sighed dramatically.

"Can't you think about the Moretti family's reputation for one night?"

"Elowen."

My voice sharpened.

"Give me the phone."

I was genuinely panicking now.

The data stored on that device was classified at the highest level.

If anything leaked, the consequences would go far beyond the Moretti family.

Elowen's eyes brightened when she saw my reaction.

"What, is your phone more important than your family?"

She shook her head.

"You can't put it down for one evening?"

Her smile turned mocking.

"Didn't anyone teach you basic manners?"

"Apparently not."

Jasper appeared beside her.

He looked me up and down with open contempt.

"Look at you. The Morettis bring you home, hold a reception in your honor, and this is how you behave?"

His face darkened.

"You're embarrassing the family."

"You don't understand."

I stepped forward.

"Taking that device is a federal offense."

Jasper laughed.

He casually took the phone from Elowen.

"A federal offense?"

He held it up.

"Then come get it."

I rushed toward him.

My eyes were already burning from panic.

But just as my fingers were about to close around the phone, Jasper tossed it over my head.

"Catch."

Elowen caught it easily.

She burst out laughing.

"Sylvana, it's over here."

She waved the phone at me.

The gesture looked like someone teasing a dog with a toy.

Several nearby guests stopped talking.

Within seconds, people throughout the ballroom were watching.

Some looked amused.

Others whispered behind their wineglasses.

I didn't care.

I only wanted the phone back.

I lunged for Elowen.

She tossed it to Jasper.

Jasper threw it back.

Again.

And again.

By the time Vincent and my mother finally noticed the commotion and came over, my legs were shaking.

I stumbled and dropped to the floor.

Vincent frowned.

"Enough."

He looked at Jasper and Elowen.

"You're adults. Stop acting like children."

He held out his hand.

"Give her the phone."

Elowen glanced at the screen.

A bright red warning had replaced the research data.

ALERT.

She rolled her eyes.

"Wow."

She turned the screen toward Jasper.

"She even has some dramatic emergency warning."

Then she looked at me.

"What are you supposed to be, some kind of secret government agent?"

Jasper laughed.

"She's really committed to the act."

I stared at the red screen.

For the first time since Elowen took the phone, I could breathe.

The institute didn't issue ordinary commercial phones to its senior researchers.

Every device carried multiple layers of encrypted protection.

The moment an unauthorized person took mine, fingerprint and iris verification had automatically activated.

Elowen and Jasper had failed authentication repeatedly while tossing it back and forth.

That had triggered the emergency protocol.

The device was locked.

The classified files were secure.

More importantly, an emergency alert had already been transmitted to the nearest federal security unit.

Vincent seemed completely unaware of what had just happened.

He turned toward the guests and smoothly lifted his wineglass.

"My apologies, everyone."

His practiced smile returned.

"My daughter spent most of her life isolated from our world. She's still learning how things are done in the Moretti family."

A few guests laughed politely.

Vincent continued entertaining them as if nothing had happened.

He never once looked down at me.

I was still sitting on the floor.

And somewhere beyond the Moretti estate gates, a federal security team had just received the highest-level emergency alert from my phone.