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of a second meeting–withOriana–had worked psychologically on me, made me less vigilant about the first meeting, with Rathbone. I’d fallen into their trap like a fool. I’d been blinded by my own hope of getting hold of the Piers Ormond will, and finally uncovering the truth about my past.
    Boges and Winter too, both normally suspicious when it came to trusting anyone, had also been caught up in the excitement of finally getting more info. The three of us together had felt like an unstoppable trio.
    I groaned aloud. Oriana had the Riddle back and now, thanks to me, she had the Jewel too. Both halves of the double-key code. Plus she had everything else she needed to solve the Ormond Singularity. She had money, influence, power … freedom. All the things I didn’t have. I could’ve pulled my hair out in aggravation.
    I jumped up and walked around the room. The IV tugged on my forearm as my brain surged with fears about Gabbi and frustration over my careless decisions.

    Faint, but familiar, voices outside my door propelled me to my feet.
    I squashed my ear up against the thick door, straining to listen.
    ‘Now, Win, please try and stay calm,’ said a voice belonging to someone I knew too well–it was Uncle Rafe, talking to my mum! ‘Going in there and shouting at him about Gab,’ he continued, ‘isn’t going to help us get to her any faster. We need him to cooperate. OK, love?’
    Love? Since when did Rafe use words like ‘love’?
    ‘Whatever you think is best,’ said my mum.
    ‘And if at any moment it gets too hard for you, we can leave. You just say the word.’
    ‘That’s right,’ Sergeant McGrath’s gruff voice added. ‘His hands are restrained, and we’re here if he’s stupid enough to try and pull a swift one.’
    Their footsteps approached and I jumped back to my bed, fidgeting nervously with my bound hands.
    The door opened and Mum and Rafe walked in together, accompanied by the sergeant and the corridor police guard.
    Mum wouldn’t look at me. She kept her head down, eyes on the ground.
    ‘Hello Cal,’ said Rafe.
    ‘Rafe,’ I said, acknowledging him.
    ‘Callum, your family is here to speak with you,’ McGrath announced. ‘We’ll leave you alone for a short while,’ he said to Rafe, ‘but we will both be just outside the door should you need us.’
    With that, he and the corridor cop left the room.
    My mum suddenly made a move towards me, then faltered. Rafe had his arm around her, restraining her, guiding her to the chair near the bed instead. I couldn’t tell whether she’d wanted to rush to me to hug me … or to hit me.
    ‘Sit down, Win,’ he said, flashing me a look of grave concern.
    Mum sat down awkwardly. She had lost a lot of weight and there were hollows around her eyes that weren’t there before. She looked really frail. Rafe, too, looked run-down and weary. His hair was now heaps more silvery than dark.
    ‘Cal,’ said Mum, hesitantly, glancing up at Rafe as she spoke, ‘I don’t know what to say to you.’
    ‘You could start,’ I said, ‘by telling me what happened to Gabbi, and how in the world she was kidnapped from under both of your noses.’
    I could see Rafe’s jaw clench and his lips tense and contort with anger. He cleared his throat.
    ‘Cal, we were hoping that you would be able to tell us that.’ He took a deep breath and looked at my mum and then back to me. ‘Even though your mother doesn’t approve of it, I’m taking out a mortgage on the house, to raise money for your defence. Now that you’re finally back withus–now that you’ve been incarcerated–we want you to have the very best lawyers money can buy. But first,’ he said before pausing, ‘you have to tell us what you’ve done with Gabbi.’
    Mum’s hand reached out for Rafe’s. She squeezed it tight–the knuckles on her thin fingers whitening. Then she leaned into him and began to cry.
    I stared silently at them. I couldn’t speak.
    ‘We’ve had discussions about this,