Elias mind reeling from the admission that Mara was involved in the sabotage. He hadn’t expected this—he hadn’t expected her to have any part in his work, in his life, in his projects at all. After everything that had happened between them, after the wreckage she had left in her wake, the idea that she still held power over him, even indirectly, cut deeper than he was willing to admit.Lana was the first to break the silence, her voice calm but insistent. “We need to be smart about this, Elias. If Mara’s involved, we can’t just rush in. She’s a master at manipulating people, at staying two steps ahead.”Elias snapped out of his thoughts and nodded sharply. “I know. I’m not rushing in. But I’m done sitting around letting her control everything from the shadows.”Lana took a deep breath, her eyes steady on his. “The last thing you want to do is underestimate her. She’s dangerous, Elias. She’s been playing the long game, and we’re just getting started.”Elias ran a hand through his hair,

Mara had never been one to play fair, and Elias knew, deep down, that whatever she had on him, whatever this new threat was, would be nothing short of devastating. His past—a past he had worked so tirelessly to bury—was being dragged to the surface, ready to be used against him in ways he couldn’t yet understand.He stood in the middle of his apartment, his mind spinning as he processed what Lana had told him. She was digging, trying to uncover the secrets Mara had uncovered, but what was the point of digging if the past was already out there, threatening to ruin everything he had built?“Not this time,” he whispered to himself, his voice a quiet promise. But even he wasn’t sure if he believed it.The phone in his hand felt too heavy. He tossed it onto the couch and walked over to the window, his gaze lost in the city below. The lights from the streetlamps flickered, casting long shadows across the buildings. The noise of the city—the hum of life, of cars passing by, of voices filteri

Elias’s pulse quickened as he sat in the quiet office, his eyes locked onto the files spread out before him. He hadn’t expected the conversation with Daniel to go as smoothly as it had. But now that they had an understanding, Elias knew the real test was coming. Daniel might have agreed to join him, but the trust between them was fragile, built on the thinnest of threads. He would need to be careful. Too many years of betrayal had shaped him into someone who couldn’t afford to let his guard down.The phone on his desk buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts. Elias glanced at the screen, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the name.**Lana.**He answered immediately. “What’s the news?”“I’ve been digging, Elias,” Lana said, her voice sharp with urgency. “And I found something else. Something you need to know.”Elias stiffened. “What is it?”“There’s a connection between Mara and the board members of your company. A deeper one than we originally thought. It’s not just about your past;

Cameron would soon walk into this trap, and everything—his past, his future, and the company he had worked so hard to build—was riding on this one moment.Lana stood by the window, her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the street below. She had set everything into motion. She had risked her own reputation, her career, to help Elias. In return, he was trusting her, trusting her instincts, just as he had done when they had first started working together all those years ago.Daniel stood off to the side, his usual confidence replaced by a quiet determination. He was here because he understood the stakes. No one was leaving this room until the truth came out—one way or another.“You’re sure he’ll show?” Elias asked, breaking the silence.Lana didn’t turn away from the window. “He’s too invested in Mara’s scheme to back out now. This is his chance to prove he’s still in her favor, that he hasn’t been caught. He’ll be here.”Elias nodded, though doubt gnawed at him. Trusting Lana had never be

Elias sat in his office, the usual hum of the city below providing an almost comforting background to his tense thoughts. The morning sun streamed through the windows, casting long shadows across the room, but Elias barely noticed the light. His focus was on the files spread out in front of him, each piece of paper feeling like a weight on his chest.He had spent the past several hours combing through everything Lana had gathered—trying to find a way to connect all the pieces. Cameron’s ties to his past. Mara’s endless manipulation. And now, the new threat Lana had uncovered. Every lead seemed to lead to another question, another uncertainty.Elias had always prided himself on control. But today, for the first time in years, he felt utterly out of control. And the worst part was, he had no idea who he could trust anymore.The door to his office creaked open, and Elias didn’t need to look up to know it was Lana. She had a way of moving through his space that was both purposeful and qui