The phone rings, causing Ty and Cady to jump. When she answers, her mother is on the phone. Her mother asks her a question to ensure it’s her, the answer to which is “Queen-size pantyhose” (188), and then the two catch up with what’s happened and is still happening. Her mother mentions that her father and Max are more or less okay, which alarms Cady. When she presses her mom, Janie explains that she and Patrick found the info they needed to incriminate Z-Biotech. The company has storage rooms in their basement that they’re using to grow the virus. They took photos and then fled, grabbing Max, but Patrick was shot in the process. They purchased disposable phones, but by the time they listened to the message Nowell left, the deadline had already passed. Janie went to the cabin only to find it in flames. She thought Cady was dead when the news mentioned that human remains had been found. Cady’s mother then tells her another piece of bad news: Max has been exposed to the hantavirus. He was trying to help Patrick in the backseat and must have opened the vial.