LOGINHe nods, a small acknowledgment. “It’s the first thing I noticed about you.” “That I’m weak?” “That you go out of your way to hide it,” he says. “But you’re not very good at hiding who you are. Not when you actually care.” The glass in my hand trembles. I set it down, hard enough that water slosh
He sits, not at the edge but comfortably back, as if this is just another war room and not the private sanctum of someone who might destroy or promote him with a single phrase. I gather my papers into a single stack, then join him, perching on the arm of the opposite chair because I can’t quite brin
I feel it, the sharp and certain thrill of the hunt completed, the enemy cornered, the blood in the air. “He’s dead,” I say, almost reverent. Lucas meets my gaze, and this time he holds it, neither of us looking away. “You did this,” he says quietly. “I was just the enabler.” For a second, I want
The wolf bristles at that, but I hide it behind a tight smile. “Impressive.” Lucas nods, modesty so practiced it almost seems genuine. “We cross-checked Derek’s travel with the wire transfers. Every spike matches a new LLC formation, every lull a consolidation in Zurich or the Caymans. He got greed
Rain laces the window in frantic diagonals, painting the city with streaks of white against the sodium glow of traffic and the neon shiver of signage. My office hums with the peculiar electricity that only comes after midnight: the click of the elevator echoing through the empty floors, the low moan
“What is it?” he asks, and I hear the hope, the craving for victory. It mirrors my own, amplified by the late hour and the proximity of another hungry soul. I pivot the laptop so he can see. “It’s the dummy shell. Not just the primary—Derek’s got a whole stack of LLCs feeding into the same offshore
The final confirmation comes in the shape of a hidden file, a false-bottomed drawer, a false life. Derek’s private study is full of shadows, of secrets, of quiet deceit. The storm drums against the windows like a warning, like an omen, like the edges of what I know to be true. I begin my search with
The bathroom lights are a yellow blur, the harsh fluorescent brightness making me squint, making my skin crawl, making the change come harder and faster and more unbearably raw. I stumble to the mirror, the surface cool and shocking against my overheated palms. The reflection is an unsteady accusati
Lucas smiles, the expression almost teasing. “Sometimes it pays to take risks, Mara.” The use of my name is deliberate, intentional, and I feel my resistance falter, my defenses crumble. I don’t respond. I can’t respond. Not with words, not yet. I reach for a file, anything to keep the conversatio
The pen wavers in my hand, an unsteady promise, an unsteady threat. I draw a line through Derek’s name, feel the pull to call him, to complicate things. The urge is sharp, almost as sharp as my need to avoid him, to handle this on my own. The breeze catches the edge of the calendar, rustling it like







