Chapter Fifteen: First Blade Drawn

VOSS ESTATE

Morning seeped into the room like a rumor—gray, watchful and cold.

Amara woke, her mind replaying last night’s auction like a film she refused to pause. The anonymous note still pulsed against her ribs. Get along just fine.

Kaylee was already at the breakfast table, laptop open, hair pulled into a knife-sharp bun. Two mugs of coffee steamed between them.

“Found something,” Kaylee said without preamble. “On the lawyer who managed the Monroe family trust back when they passed.”

Amara straightened. “The one who helped them?”

She didn't have any emotional attachment to her parents, she didn't even know them before their death, she wasn't affected when they were brought up.

“Name’s Roderick Vale. Partner at Dempsey & Co.” Kaylee rotated the screen. “Divorce filings sealed, gambling debts quieted by payouts. And—” she tapped another tab—“an offshore account linked to Cade Development. Cayman Islands.”

“Bought,” Amara murmured.

“Rented. He still practices. Still travels to Geneva twice a year. His phone records show late-night calls to an unlisted New York burner. Guess whose name hovers around those same calls.”

Amara’s pulse tightened. “Ethan.”

Kaylee nodded. “I sent Vale a little hello—just enough to shake the tree.”

Amara arched a brow. “Define hello.”

“Encrypted text. No signature. We know what you buried. Let’s see if he twitches.”

Amara allowed herself the smallest smile. “Nicely played.”

Kaylee’s phone buzzed. “And look at that. He twitched. Three calls to Cade’s private line since dawn.”

The first blade, drawn.

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Late morning sunlight turned Los Angeles into a mirage when Sienna Cade texted.

> Brunch and a tour? Let me show you why people stay in California.

Amara studied the message. Sienna’s friendliness still felt like silk hiding barbed wire.

She wondered how she didn't notice the last time.

How Sienna was sweet—too sweet —she was actually pushing her towards Ethan.

She said they'd make a great couple.

How did she even allow herself to be fooled?

She was naive as Elara—a mistake she wouldn't make as Amara

“Meeting her is a risk,” Kaylee warned, reading over her shoulder.

“That’s why I do it,” Amara replied. “Every move is information.”

----------

The restaurant Sienna chose clung to a hillside above the Pacific, glass walls giving the illusion of floating over water. Sienna arrived exactly on time, wrapped in ivory linen, a diamond at her throat catching every shaft of sun.

“You look too perfect for a city still waking,” Amara said, accepting the air-kiss Sienna offered.

“California rewards early risers,” Sienna replied with a smile that never touched her eyes. “Shall we?”

They walked the coastal path after brunch, ocean wind tangling their hair. Sienna narrated neighborhoods, art districts, charity galas. Amara listened, cataloging every inflection.

Halfway down the trail, Sienna’s phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen, thumb hovering, a flicker of something—panic?—before she tucked it away.

“Everything alright?” Amara asked lightly.

Sienna’s smile reappeared too quickly. “Ethan. He can’t help himself. Business.”

But the lie shone like glass in the sun. The vibration had been too brief for a text thread. And the way Sienna’s fingers tightened around the phone—a tell.

Another buzz. Sienna’s jaw clenched before she silenced it.

“Persistent,” Amara said. “Your husband likes to keep close tabs.”

“Married life,” Sienna replied, but her voice carried a thin tremor.

Yeah Sure 'married life' Amara thought.

Amara let silence stretch, the ocean’s roar filling the gap. Whoever messaged Sienna wasn’t Ethan. And Sienna knew Amara knew.

Interesting.

------------

Back at the penthouse, Kaylee awaited with updates.

“Vale’s in full panic,” she reported. “Booked a last-minute flight to New York. Cade’s private jet filed a matching plan. They’re scrambling.”

Amara set her clutch down, mind racing. “And Sienna?”

“Tracked her phone to a private number out of Nevada. Not Ethan’s network. Different encryption—high-end, military-grade.”

“So Sienna’s hiding something from her own husband,” Amara murmured. “And someone out there wants her rattled.”

Kaylee tilted her head. “Could be the same someone who sent you that note.”

Amara looked out at the darkening horizon. The Pacific bled copper under the setting sun.

The game was widening—new players, new motives.

“We keep pressing,” she said. “Let Vale run scared. Let Sienna twist. The more they move, the clearer the map becomes.”

Kaylee’s lips curved in a rare, fierce smile. “And Ethan?”

Amara felt the weight of last night’s stare, the challenge in his eyes.

“Ethan will come to me,” she said. “Men like him always do.”

She knew, she recognized the pattern.

Still she felt dumb, how she didn't notice the first time.

She was naive, a lost little orphan out of the system.

She remembered the first time she met Ethan Cade and Sienna.

It was in college.

Everyone basically ignored her existence and went on with their lives.

But Sienna though? She was the first to approach her with some kind of huge smile and warmness she sought.

Elara was a recluse, she didn't have any friends, it never quite phased her—not really—she didn't crave for companionship until they came into her life.

She shook the thought away.

It was all in the past for a reason.

Outside, the ocean wind rose, carrying the scent of salt and storms—an omen, or a promise.

The first blade had been drawn. The next would find its mark.