Benítez is a minor cardinal, a Jesuit from the Philippines with a career free of controversy or visible ambition. Why would anyone vote for him?

That night, Lomeli eats alone in his room. His mind won’t rest.

Until someone knocks at his door.

Opening it, he finds a solemn face. Archbishop Woźniak.

—Your Eminence, there’s something you need to know.

Lomeli lets him in. Woźniak appears nervous. His voice is barely a whisper:

—The Holy Father… left a message before he died.

Lomeli feels the air thicken.

—What kind of message?

Woźniak hands him a sealed envelope. The papal emblem pressed into red wax.

—I don’t know. But the Pope asked me to deliver it to the right person at the right time.

Lomeli stares at the envelope. Something tells him it contains a truth that could change the course of the conclave.

But when he looks up, Woźniak is already gone.