บททั้งหมดของ Her Dark Obsession: บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

Anna felt her temper rising dangerously close to the surface. "Do not lecture me about control. You have no idea what I am dealing with.""Because you will not tell me! You call emergency meetings at eleven at night, accuse me of sending intruders to your house, and refuse to explain what is actually going on." Kane crossed his arms. "How am I supposed to be your partner when you treat me like an enemy?""Maybe because you keep acting like one. You threaten to pursue Bianca. You question my decisions. You undermine me at every turn.""I question your decisions when they are bad decisions. That is what good partners do. They provide checks and balances." Kane's voice rose. "But you do not want a partner. You want a subordinate who follows orders without question.""What I want is someone I can trust. And right now, I do not trust you.""The feeling is mutual." Kane walked back to the table and picked up his drink, downing the rest of it in one gulp. "You know what your problem is, Anna

Anna was still staring at the desk drawer where she had locked the photograph when she heard the office door open behind her.She turned quickly, her hand instinctively moving toward where the gun was concealed. But it was just Bianca, standing in the doorway in her robe, her hair loose around her shoulders."What are you doing out of your room?" Anna's voice came out sharper than she intended. "I told you to stay inside with the door locked.""The guard said I could come down if I wanted to." Bianca stepped into the office, closing the door behind her. "I heard you come back and I could not sleep. Is there a problem?"Anna forced herself to relax, to let her hand drop away from the gun. "No. No problem. I just had some business to take care of.""At midnight?" Bianca crossed her arms, clearly not believing her. "You left angry and you came back even angrier. Something happened.""I told you. Just business." Anna walked around the desk, putting distance between herself and the drawer

Anna felt something warm spread through her chest at Bianca's concern. But she could not let it soften her resolve. Could not let Bianca see how much the question had affected her."I am going to be fine," Anna said, dropping her hands from Bianca's face. "I have been doing this for years. Dealing with threats, managing enemies, staying one step ahead of people who want to hurt me. This is nothing new.""Kane is not just any enemy though. He knows you. Knows how you operate.""Which means I also know him. Know his weaknesses, his patterns, his people." Anna walked back to her desk, needing distance to regain her composure. "I do not need anyone to protect me, Bianca. I have resources, security, connections that Kane cannot match. He might think he can take me on but he is wrong.""You are being overconfident.""I am being realistic. Kane is dangerous but he is not invincible. And more importantly, he is not as smart as he thinks he is." Anna leaned against the desk. "Sending David Sut

Bianca stared at the documents spread across the desk, her mind reeling. "Even when we were dating, I knew something was off. James would disappear for hours with vague excuses about work. He would get phone calls he would not take in front of me. Money would appear in his account that he could not explain properly."Anna listened, watching Bianca process the information."I thought maybe he was seeing someone else," Bianca continued. "Or that he had gambling debts or something. I never imagined he was involved in all of this." She gestured at the files. "Criminal organizations, bribes, weapons trafficking. It is like I did not know him at all.""You knew him. You just did not know this side of him." Anna started putting the documents back into the folder. "James is good at compartmentalizing. Good at being one person in his personal life and someone completely different in his professional life.""But how did I not see it? How did I miss all the signs?""Because you trusted him. And

Anna looked at Bianca with something like amusement. "You have been in this house for less than a month and you are already proposing strategies to trap my enemies. Should I be impressed or concerned?"Bianca felt heat rise to her cheeks. "I am just trying to help.""No, it is impressive. Most people in your situation would still be crying in their rooms or trying to escape. But you are thinking tactically. Strategically." Anna smiled slightly. "You are learning.""I am learning from the best," Bianca said, then immediately regretted how sincere it sounded.But Anna did not seem to notice the undertone. She just nodded. "Alright. Walk me through your full plan. How exactly would this trap work?"Bianca took a breath, organizing her thoughts. "The basic idea is we give Kane what he thinks he wants. We make him believe he has an opportunity to approach me without your interference.""How?""We create a situation where I give him a green light. Where I signal somehow that I am receptive