Page 83 of The Art of Exiley

And then it clicks. I gasp and grab on to Georgie’s chair for stability. Leo, who captured me at Carnevale—Rafe had called himLeonardo de Montaigne.And he had said there was already one traitor in Leo’s family.

Nora Montaigne.

They have to be related. Of course Leo and Bram weren’t working forthe Inquisitors; they must have actually been working forOz Techall along. And Leo’s talk of antimatter and making Rafe believe it was the Inquisitors would avert suspicion from his sister.

Any lingering doubt I have dissipates. Izzy works for Oz Tech and tried to warn me about something she saw. Nora Montaigne used to be a Maker and has been doing genetic testing related to Sires. And Nora’s brother tried to kidnap me for being a Sire. Oz Techmustbe responsible for the other Sire abductions as well.

I have no idea how to explain any of this to Georgie, but she seems happy to let me use her computer to deal with it on my own, and she heads to the common room to play with Bast.

After I recover the pieces of my skull left from having my mind blown, I try to come up with a game plan.

I absolutely must talk to the Families. I need to tell them that the Makers have their photo, share my suspicions about Nora Montaigne, and see if they can help me find Hypatia.

And despite the strength of my Oz Tech theory, I’m still filled with dread from the absolute assurance that both Michael and Rafe had about the Inquisitors being the ones who took Hypatia. I need to understand why they think they have proof of that and confirm that the Families have nothing to do with it.

Kor doesn’t answer, which makes sense for this time on a Sunday. So I try my mom.

As soon as I connect, I get straight to the point. “Mom, I need to tell you—the Makers have a picture of some of the members of the Inner Circle, and they think you all are behind the recent abductions.”

“Ada, what are you doing? You can’t be talking about this openly.” She looks panicked, and it makes me even more scared, because Mom never looks anything other than poised.

“No one is listening. Youhaveto talk to me.”

“The most important thing right now is for you to protect your cover.”

“Mom, they think the Families are the ones behind the kidnappings.”

The look on her face makes me stop breathing.

“Mom…,” I choke out. “Are they actually somehow connected?”

“The Oculus is involved in a lot of activities that the rest of the Inner Chamber knows nothing about.”

“What are you saying?” My voice squeaks with panic. “Are you part of the Oculus?” Up until recently, I hadn’t even known the Oculus was still active, never mind that my mother might be part of it.

“I’m not a member, but all the New York Chamber members have been brought on to help with a specific operation based in the city. Ada, this is not something we can discuss here and now.”

“If you won’t talk to me while I’m here, then I’m coming home.”

“You need to stay where you are. You’ll be safer there, and you can’t jeopardize your cover.”

“Safer from who? Ozymandias Tech? I can’t keep doing this without knowing what I’m part of.” I force myself to lower my voice, which has been rising to a screech. “I’m not even that safe here. Do you know that I was kidnapped again last night? And I was rescued, but my friend wasn’t so lucky.” The emotions I’ve been holding in are breaking through, and I start to tear up. “She’s only fourteen, Mom.”

My mom’s eyes widen. She looks horrified.

No, she looksguilty.

Only moments ago I’d been so sure the Families couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with the abductions. But the look on her face has all my hope draining away.

How could this be happening without me having known? How could my mother and Kor be aware and okay with it? And… I helped them! Iremember seeing Hypatia on the train. I think about everything I might have done to lead to her getting caught, and I feel like I’m about to puke.

“Is she safe?” I ask.

“I don’t know anything for sure. But if she was taken by the Families, then I’m sure she is.”

“Can I talk to her? How can we arrange to send her back here?”

“Ada, that’s not how this works. I don’t have that kind of authority. If I did, none of this would be happening.”

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