Daven's POV"Everyone. Now. My study." That was the full message I sent to three people at once without explanation, and within eleven minutes, all three of them stood in front of me, and that told me how deep into this we already were in a way nothing I could have put into words could.Calix arrived first, jaw tightened, his tie a full inch loosened from its knot as though he’d half-pulled it off himself in the car.Soren was just a moment behind him, still, watchful, already loitering near the door. Knox arrived third, sawdust coating his forearms. He just leaned on the wall and waited for someone else to start."Mara," I said, no preamble, watching all three of their faces for the reaction. "Say it out loud so I know none of us are imagining this.""Mara," Calix repeated, flat, and something in his voice cracked right down the middle of the word. "I've had my own account frozen since last night. Locked out of the discretionary fund an hour after I started tracing it back to her.""
Last Updated : 2026-08-23 Read more