When the car came to a halt in front of Seth’s house, Christian tightened his jaw and switched of the engine. “We’re here,” he said again, very simply, and at once he saw that Seth and Phoebe did not even seem to have heard him; they remained in a kind of trance, still gazing at each other.Phoebe finally averted her eyes and looked at Christian with a small smile. “Thanks for driving,” she replied in a low voice, which was warm but not exactly friendly. Christian only nodded and tried to smile, but it didn’t look genuine at all.They got out of the car and went in, but the strain between the three of them was as thick as fog. After entering the house, Seth went to examine the papers Bennett had given him, while Christian stood by the door, observing the girl as she wandered nervously about the room.He had been seething with jealousy throughout the day and it was not long before the head got the better of him. He just could not stand it.“Phoebe,” Christian said, his tone scarily clo

Seth looked at her and she at him, and there was a clear mutual understanding of what was going on. He held her hand and gave her a small, encouraging look as if to say that everything would be all right. Phoebe was not sure if she was ready to believe that but having his hand clasped in hers gave her an odd sort of comfort in the midst of it all.Christian, who stood a few steps away from the two, tightened his fists in anger. It was obvious that no matter how hard he attempted to insert himself between Seth and Phoebe, there was still something that bound them. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, averted his eyes from them for a moment, his thoughts still swirling with unreleased feelings.The sound of police cars arriving outside the house reminded them about the situation they were in. Marlin might have escaped for now, but the threat he posed to the family was bigger than he could have ever imagined. He had too many friends, too many people he could turn to in order to avoid the

Seth moved nearer and his face was set like a mask, but his eyes were burning. We have enough to get him, but we require specifics. Details only you can provide. And we can make it worth your while.”The woman’s eyes shifted with the look that was both interested and suspicious at the same time. “You really believe you can give me something more than Marlin?” She said the words with as much doubt as she could muster, but the tone held a definite tinge of greed.Seth was now facing Joseph and as much as Phoebe wanted to speak she kept a safe distance behind Seth. She could feel that this was the opportunity they needed or the one that would ruin everything. There has never been a greater risk.Seth didn’t waver. You know what happens to people who stick with Marlin when things go wrong, don’t you? You’ve seen it. He doesn’t leave loose ends. If you assist us, then you will be on the right side of the fence. If you don’t you will go down with him.”The woman looked at Seth for a few sec

And so Phoebe’s mind went blank with all the possibilities she had in her head. Marlin had a large network and if they were going to play the game, then they had to be smarter, faster and more brutal than anyone that he had at his disposal."What about a bluff?" she said finally after a long pause, the calmness of her voice betraying the activity in her mind. The idea is that we can’t buy her everything, but what if we make it look like we have a piece of Marlin’s secret fortune? What there is that will make her feel that she is safe as well as wealthy if only she will follow his instructions?Seth raised an eyebrow. “A bluff could work… but it’s dangerous. If she discovers that we don’t have anything, she leaves and we miss our chance of defeating Marlin.”Phoebe looked out the window once more, the gravity of the situation sinking in her. “It could be a risk we may have to take,” said she gently. If we don’t, it’s all about waiting for Marlin to attack. We need to get ahead of him."

Phoebe stepped back and shook her head at the same time. “It’s not about being better. It’s about moving on. We’ve tried, Seth. We’ve tried to make this work and we’ve failed. Sometimes, love is not enough to mend what is broken. Sometimes, it is about letting go. ” Steady silence followed them like fog. Seth’s jaw clamped”, his hands were fisted at his sides as if he was on the verge of losing his temper. “Is it Christian?” he asked, almost in a whisper. Phoebe blinked, and felt the pressure of the question that was asked. She had not planned to talk about Christian here, but it appears that his name will always crop up. “Yes,” she said after a pause of a few seconds. “But it is much deeper than that; it is about me; it is about me getting my own happiness and my own peace and I can never get that if I continue to hold on to you. ” Seth’s face was that of a man struggling to contain his sorrow; he had to swallow hard to even speak. “This is what you wanted?” he croaked. “This is g