In a sparse, dimly lit room that smelled of damp concrete and stale air, Natalia was slumped against a thick, cold pillar. Heavy ropes bound her wrists behind her, pinning her in place. She was unconscious, her head lolling to one side, her dark hair falling across her face. A single bare bulb swung gently from a wire in the ceiling, casting shifting shadows over her still form.The door creaked open. Braxton walked in, his shoes making soft clicks on the concrete floor. He stopped in front of her, a curious, almost clinical look on his face. He reached out and gently pushed her hair aside, tucking it behind her ear. His fingers came away damp. In the poor light, he saw it—a dark, sticky trickle of blood that had run from the back of her head down the side of her neck, staining the collar of her blouse.His eyes darted angrily to the three men standing nervously by the door. “What happened to her?” he demanded, his voice tight.One of the men, pulling his black ski mask off completely

She felt his hands on the ropes at her wrists. But instead of fumbling to untie the complex knots, his hands paused. They rested there, on the ropes, not tugging, not loosening, just… holding.Then Heath stepped out from behind the pillar. He didn’t untie her. Instead, he burst into loud, unrestrained laughter, clapping his hands together as if he’d just heard the world’s best joke.The sound was so wrong, so out of place, that it froze the room. The three men looked confused. Braxton’s bewildered expression slowly melted into a grin of understanding. Natalia’s brows creased in dawning horror.“Heath,” she said, her voice thin and uncertain. “What are you doing…? Untie me.”He wiped a pretend tear from his eye, his laughter subsiding into chuckles. “Ah, oh me,” he sighed, shaking his head with theatrical flair. “I think I should seriously consider Hollywood, Natalia. What do you say? Was I convincing? The concerned savior?”“I… I don’t understand,” she stammered, her mind refusing to

Heath looked at her, all pretense of amusement gone. “Nathan,” he said, the name a curse. “I want him gone. Erased. He’s a huge threat. An obstacle that needs to be removed.”Natalia’s eyes darted from Heath to Braxton, who stood smirking behind him, and back. The pieces slammed together. “So you’re both in this together,” she said, her voice flat with disgust. “A common agenda.”Braxton nodded, enjoying her realization. “Yes. That’s why I approached you the first time. But you didn’t give in to my very generous offer. Your loyalty was… misplaced.”“What did Nathan ever do to you chumps?” she demanded, her fury giving her voice strength. “What could he possibly have done to make you want to ruin him?!”Braxton laughed, a dry, humorless sound. “His existence is what’s wrong. That’s all you need to know.”She looked at both of them, bound and battered but unbowed. “So what’s the plan now? Use me as bait to get to Nathan? You’re both pathetic. Truly pathetic.”Heath nodded, a sarcastic,

Meanwhile, in her hotel room, Amelia had been pacing for almost an hour, a bundle of restless energy. The message from Nathan had lit her up from the inside.{I’m coming.}Two words. Simple, direct, and they had sent her heart into a frantic, hopeful flutter. She’d immediately uprooted herself from the bed where she had been lounging and hadn’t been able to sit still since. She was expecting him. Expecting him to walk through that door and finally, finally say the words back to her. To acknowledge the feelings she’d laid bare. The vivid dream from that morning felt like a premonition, and she had been chasing the ghost of that feeling all day.She grabbed her phone from the dressing table and read the message again for the dozenth time, a silly smile touching her lips. She imagined it again—his hands in her hair, his lips on hers—and a warm blush crept up her neck.But then she frowned, the giddy feeling giving way to impatience. “What is keeping him?” she wondered aloud, tapping the

Meanwhile, back in the dimly lit and grim room, Heath handed his phone to Braxton. “Send him the address. Now.”Braxton took it, his thumbs flying over the screen. “Sent.” He looked up, his earlier bravado tinged with nervous energy. “Do you… do you think he’ll actually come?”Heath nodded, his confidence absolute. “He’ll come. He’s that predictable, noble type. He won’t leave her to boil.”Then it hit Braxton. His eyes widened, a fresh wave of anxiety washing over his face. “Wait,” he stammered, the words tumbling out. “What if… what if he brings the police along with him? Or at the worst level, the FBI? We didn’t think of that!”The thought visibly struck Heath, too. His smug expression faltered for a second before twisting into a scowl. He rounded on Braxton. “Why didn’t your brainless head think of that before you sent the damn address?!”Braxton flinched. “Huh? You gave me an order! I couldn’t think that second, I just carried it out!”“Then you must be stupid,” Heath said, his v