Se connecterEmily POVThe elevator doors closed.Nathan stood beside me in silence.Twenty floors down.Neither of us spoke.The tension between us felt alive.The champagne buzz from the gala was gone. All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing and the memory of Isabella saying:*I think I'm in love with your husband.*Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets.“Emily”“Don’t,” I said immediately.His jaw tightened.The elevator dinged open into the private underground garage.Marcus was already waiting beside the car.One look at our faces and his expression changed.“What happened?”“Nothing,” Nathan said too fast.I looked at him.“That’s interesting,” I said coldly. “Because apparently something happened in Singapore.”Marcus looked between us carefully. “Okay. I’m guessing this is not the place for this conversation.”“No,” I said. “It really is.”Nathan exhaled sharply. “Emily.”“You let me stand beside that woman for months.”Marcus frowned slowly. “What woman?”“Isabella Sinclair.
Emily POVI walked toward Isabella with my face completely approachable."Isabella," I said. "Can I steal you for a moment? There's a view from the east terrace I wantto show you. The circuit is still lit."She smiled. "I'd love that."We walked out together.The terrace was empty. I stood at the railing.Isabella stood beside me.We looked at the city for a moment."It's beautiful," she said."Yes,"I said.Then I turned to her."Tell me about the Raffles Hotel." I said.A smile stayed on her face for exactly two seconds after I said it.Then it changed into something more honest. kind of recognition."Blake," she said."Blake," I confirmed.She looked at the city. "What do you want to know?""Everything you think I don't already know," I said.She was quiet for a moment and Isabella Sinclair did the thing I had not prepared for.She told me the truth.She told me about the preliminary meetings. The way she had positioned herself asNathan's business contact. The dinner was all her
Blake POVI saw her the moment she stepped out of the elevator.Twenty years of managing people who didn't want to be managed had given me a particular skill reading situations even before the Sinclair's entrance at ten forty-seven PM on the night of a race we had just won was not for a business arrangement .A business entrance is a handshake and a Gerald.This was a Vera Wang gown, a personal assistant carrying nothing but a clutch bag, and awoman who had redirected a private flight from Hong Kong because she saw a race result.I crossed the room to intercept before she reached Nathan but I didn't make it in time.She'd already asked for him at the front desk and she already knew what floor we were on. She had come through the entrance like someone who had an agenda in mind rather than a room to enter.I watched her cross to Emily instead and that surprised me.Emily first, then Nathan.I stood at the edge of the room and did what I had been doing for eight months, which was manag
Emily POVI knew before I saw her.Not because Nathan had told me anything or Marcus had said more than he did.But because I had spent seven years in a marriage to a man who thought I couldn't read aroom and I had learned to read every room I walked into before I cleared the doorway.The Sinclair delegation was six people. Four of them were business while the other assistants flanked a senior partnership director named Gerald who Blake had worked with before. I met Gerald in London three months ago. He was sixty, efficient and completely without pretension.The other two were Isabella Sinclair and a woman I didn't recognise who appeared to be apersonal assistant rather than a business one.Isabella was thirty-three. I knew her profile the way I knew every major player in any industry similar to ours. Sinclair Industries had been a potential partner for eight months. I read her business record, she had a Stanford MBA and her lifestyle brand was genuinelyimpressive, profitable and
Nathan POVThe post-race gala was held on the fifty-third floor of the Marina Bay Sands.Lotus had booked the entire sky terrace. The city spread out below us in every direction,lights reflecting off the water, the circuit still visible from the east side of the building wherethe barriers hadn't been removed yet. Someone had arranged for the trophy to be placed atthe entrance where every guest walked past it coming in.Emily's name on the base, “Singapore Grand Prix. First place.”I stood at the bar watching the room and felt something I hadn't let myself feel in a longtime.Genuine happiness.That was the only word for it, the race was done and the points were banked. Davies wasacross the room telling someone the story of his overtake at turn eleven with both hands involved in the demonstration. Lucas was on the terrace with his wife looking at the city below them. James had a drink for the first time all weekend and was talking to Claire.Blake appeared at my shoulder. "Champio
Emily POVRace morning in Singapore felt nothing like Silverstone.Silverstone was open and loud with the energy of a home crowd that had been waiting all year. It was electric and blazing with heat that sat on your skin before you'd even stepped outside. The city was already awake at seven AM boats on the marina, the skyline catching early light, everything slightly surreal the way Singapore always was. I sat on the hotel balcony having a conversation with myself.Having two thoughts like I always do.The scared side said “Hoffman is twenty-six and has been the fastest driver on this grid for two seasons. He knows this circuit better than you. He qualified eight hundredths faster. You grazed a wall in practice and these streets are unforgiving.”The other side said “you found the wall and went deeper the next lap. You found six hundredths in turn five at midnight because your daughter texted you from boarding school. You have been building toward this race for seven years.”I listen
Nahan POV "Michael, it's over. The Russian military will arrive soon. You're surrounded. Surrender." Jason urged Michael to surrender before he was taken down but multiple shots"I'm dead either way. Russia will execute me for this assault. America will prosecute me forRichard's murder. But if I
Emily POVAfter my extraction from Russia, I sat in Marcus's penthouse watching my fivechildren play while trying to process everything that had happened.Michael was in a Russian hospital under heavy guard, expected to survive and face trial. Dr.Yuri was in American protective custody, cooperati
Emily POV Blake arranged the transfer through Lothan Industries emergency funds. One billion incryptocurrency, routing through blockchain networks designed to obscure origin anddestination.Within hours, the money vanished into some anonymous accounts.But Blake's team caught something, a three-
Blake POVFifty-five hours remaining.I watched through surveillance feeds as the St. Petersburg warehouse exploded in a fireballvisible from three miles away. The blast was massive professional demolition, not justimprovised explosives.Michael had been planning to kill everyone we sent."Jason'







