They kept it quiet at first.Professional during the day. Separate meetings. Formal emails. Nothing that suggested anything beyond business partnership.But after hours it was different.Dinner at private restaurants. Late nights at Sophia's hotel suite. Long conversations that had nothing to do with real estate or banking.Jake learned things about her. Small details that made her more than just a powerful ally.She hated mornings. Needed two espressos before she could function. Made terrible jokes when she was tired. Had a scar on her left shoulder from a skiing accident in Switzerland when she was twelve.She learned about him too. That he'd wanted to be an architect before life derailed those plans. That he still missed his delivery route sometimes. The simplicity of it. That he had nightmares about the shooting. About Marcus dying.Week one. They were careful. No public displays. No social media. No trace.Derek noticed immediately. "You're smiling more. That's new.""Things are

Derek arrived fifteen minutes later.He brought two team members. Carlos Martinez and a new operative, Sarah Brooks. Former CIA. Extraction specialist.They set up in Jake's penthouse. Laptops. Communications equipment. Tactical gear.Derek pulled up a map of New York City. "We have forty-eight hours. We need to narrow down possible locations. Fast."Jake showed them the photo and video. "Warehouse. Concrete walls. Industrial lighting. No windows visible."Sarah studied the images. "Port district most likely. Or an industrial zone in Brooklyn. Queens maybe. Hundreds of abandoned warehouses that fit this profile.""So we check them all," Jake said."In forty-eight hours? Impossible. We need to narrow it down."Carlos pulled up property records. "Who owns abandoned warehouses in New York? We can start with properties connected to Isabella Torres or shell companies she uses."Derek shook his head. "She's too smart for that. She'll use contractors. People with no connection to her. Dead e