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The look in her eyes told me she knew it had been wrong. She never got the chance to reply, however, because the door opened abruptly and Novak impatiently loomed inside, making a sweeping gesture for me to enter. I paused, taken aback that his face looked so much older—like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. By the time I realized what I’d seen, his features had already rearranged themselves into his normal appearance. Victoria turned to go.

“Victoria!” Novak said. She turned back. “Tell them I’ll meet them in the garage.” He murmured something else to her in a Spanish-sounding language I’d never heard before.

“Please sit.” Novak closed the door behind us with just a glance. The door to Novak’s office vault was open, and for the first time ever I saw inside. The small room was empty except for a long white feather that lay on the ground.

Novak looked the part of the relaxed billionaire in his dark jeans, Lanvin sneakers, and cashmere hoodie. He seemed distracted, but when he took a seat across from me and looked up, it was like he had cleared a slate to focus on me completely. I felt like he’d be able to see in my eyes every incredible thing I’d done tonight.

It made me want to crawl out of my skin. I didn’t want his attention. I felt like I didn’t know this person anymore. If I ever had. I’d learned he was the ultimate chameleon. I was aware of every second that ticked by until Novak spoke.

“I wanted to touch base with you before we left.” Novak began swiveling in his chair, back and forth, back and forth, like he hadn’t a care in the world. I realized I was getting the Novak who played the role of charismatic leader and kind father, his eyes now light and sparkling. The only sign that he was agitated was the deep scratches he was etching into the marble tabletop with his thumbnail.

“No need to panic, baby.” Novak laughed. “You’re here because I wanted to give you this.” He took something gold off the desk and walked over to me. Looking more closely at what was dangling from his hand, I realized it was a necklace identical to the one Liv was wearing.

“May I?” Without waiting for an answer, Novak bent low, draped it around my neck, and deftly clasped it. Hairs raised on the back of my neck as his fingers brushed my skin.

“What is it?” I asked, wishing I didn’t have to talk.

“It’s our original gold from Peru. We’ve been without a home for over a century now. This is a reminder of who we are and where we came from. It’s traveled with us all these years.”

I touched the gold chain and the pendant, the nugget of gold. “Why are you giving it to me?”

He sat back down across from me on the other side of his desk. “I know what you overheard earlier. I brought you here to reassure you that you have a place in this family. At eighteen it’s become clear you have more of our traits than theirs. After months at that school and staying in line, you’ve proved yourself to everyone.”

I’d been on display. I’d always felt different, but I hadn’t known I was being watched all these years while they waited to see how I would turn out.

“I know how frustrating it must have been to have these spurts that add up to nothing without training. And I know it was hard to watch your abilities dissipate. My plan has always been to teach you, once we reach the new place, exactly what to do with the gifts you have.”

“My remaining gifts?” I asked in a neutral voice.

Novak didn’t like the question. “It’s a large responsibility to carry on our legacy. Not everyone will always agree with how the leader chooses what’s best for our survival.” Novak wouldn’t even make apologies for what he’d done to me and the Lost Kids. He seemed so confident I wasn’t a threat, that the school had been just the place where he could diminish my skills at the precise moment when I’d shown the most potential. He believed I worshipped him and this family so much that I hadn’t dared overreach, that I’d sat at that school and let my potential ebb away. He had no idea I’d managed to attain control over my abilities without one shred of his guidance.

“Who was she?” I asked, surprising myself. I’d wanted to hear this from him my whole life.

The only sign of a reaction was a slowing in his near-violent swiveling motion. He’d had time to think about his response. “I mistook her for someone she wasn’t. I also learned very quickly that life outside is nothing compared with this. This family and what it means is bigger than any individual desire I may have had. I don’t belong just to myself.”

So that was all he would tell me about her: nothing. Lati had given me more.

Silence hung between us. “When I was a baby, why did you take me?” I asked, not liking how small and confused my voice sounded.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Novak said bluntly, and I saw the veil slip.

Novak stood up and looked out the window, no longer wanting to face me. Finally he said, “She fell in with the wrong people. It was dangerous for you to stay.”

“So you never wanted me here,” I said flatly. I’d been forced not only on the entire group but on Novak as well.

He continued to stare out the window. “It’s been a challenge. Each Relocation, the past almost vanishes. It’s like a part of us is supposed to die so we can enter the new life completely. But here you’ve been, a constant reminder for me of a youthful mistake. You look almost exactly like her.”