Zack's breath caught in his throat.
"A deal?" he repeated through his gritted teeth, his voice barely above a whisper. He took a step closer, his fingers twitching at his sides. "What kind of deal, Olivia?"
She clenched her fists, her gaze flickering with something unreadable. Guilt? Fear? He couldn't tell.
"After the first trial, I figured out how to access the system," she admitted. "I searched through everything I could. Rules, hidden mechanisms, ways to survive this hell. And that's when I found something."
She exhaled, a bitter chuckle escaping her lips. "A loophole. A way to avoid participating in the trials."
Zack felt his stomach drop. "What did you do?"
