Chapter 10

The clinic ruins smelled of wet ash and ozone. Elias stood in the center of the examination room, the floorboards groaning under his weight. Outside, the harbor wind whipped against the boarded-up windows, a rhythmic thudding that sounded like a countdown. He held the encryption keys Halloway had surrendered—a cold, jagged piece of hardware that felt heavier than the life he’d tried to build away from this place.

He wasn't an auditor anymore. He was a target.

The Enforcer didn't announce his arrival with a knock. He stepped through the shattered front entrance, his silhouette framed by the gray, pre-dawn light. He moved with the practiced economy of someone who had already decided the outcome of the night.

"You destroyed the ledger, Elias," the Enforcer said, his voice devoid of heat. "You think that erases the debt? You’ve only made the collection process more… manual."

Elias gripped the edge of the rusted exam table. "The ledger was a cage. I’m not holding the keys to anyone’s life anymore."

"You are the Seed Name," the Enforcer countered, stepping closer. The floorboards shrieked. "The network doesn't collapse because the paper is gone. It collapses because the anchor is removed. If

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