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“No," I interrupt, stepping away from the window. Three pairs of eyes turn to me, surprise visible in each of them.

“No?” Z repeats, straightening to his full height.

“I'm going alone,” I state. The decision crystallized during our silent drive back to Boston.

“Absolutely not,” Talon says immediately, shaking his head. “We're not letting you walk into a trap by yourself.”

“It's not up for debate.” I move toward the table, studying the blueprint with calculated detachment. “The message was clear. If they see any of you, Luca dies.”

“And if you go alone, you both die,” Oz counters, his voice tight with frustration. “Vesper, be reasonable.”

“Reasonable? There's nothing reasonable about any of this.”

“We understand your urgency, moya koroleva, but rushing in without proper planning is exactly what The Collector wants.”

My fingers trace the red circle marking my father's study. “He wants something only I can give him. He said it himself.”

The three men exchange glances, a silent communication passing between them that makes my skin prickle with irritation.

“This is about my family. The Collector took Luca and I, raped our bodies, harvested our family’s legacy, and sold them to the highest bidder. This has never been just about me, but my entire family. The only way this ends is if I meet with him.”

“That's not entirely true,” Oz says, his voice quiet but firm. “It's about us too, Vesper. It's about all of us now.”

I turn away, frustration building in my chest. "You don't understand what he's capable of."

“We understand exactly what he's capable of,” Talon counters, moving to stand beside me. His good arm reaches out, fingers brushing mine. “We've seen what he did to you. What he did to Luca in that video. We're not naive.”

“Then you should understand why I have to go alone!” My voice rises, echoing against the apartment walls. “I've already lost Alex. I won't lose the rest of you, too.”

The room falls silent at the mention of his name. It's the first time I've spoken it aloud since the beach with Z. The pain is still raw, an open wound that refuses to heal.

Z approaches slowly, as if I'm a wounded animal that might bolt. “Vesper, listen to me. The Collector isn't expecting you to come alone. He's expecting you to bring us.”

I blink, confusion momentarily replacing my anger. “What?”

“Think about it,” Oz continues, picking up his brother's thread. “He knows you well enough to understand you wouldn't leave Luca to suffer. But he also knows us. He knows we wouldn't let you walk into danger unprotected.”

“It's a trap within a trap.”

“Exactly,” Talon confirms. “He's counting on us to accompany you, planning to eliminate all of us in one sweep.”

The realization settles over me like a cold shroud. The Collector has always been ten steps ahead, manipulating every move on this twisted chessboard. My hand trembles slightly as I reach for the coffee mug Talon left, needing something to ground me.

“So what's your brilliant alternative?” I ask, taking a sip of the now lukewarm liquid. “If going together is walking into a trap, and going alone is suicide, what options do we have left?”

Oz leans forward, his finger tracing a path on the blueprint I hadn't noticed before.

We go in differently. Not the way someone would expect.”

“The underground tunnel system,” Z adds, tapping another section of the blueprint. “Your father had escape routes built throughout the property. Alex found them when he was researching the estate.”

My breath catches at the mention of Alex's name again. Of course, he would have discovered my family's secrets, even the ones I didn't know existed. He was thorough like that, meticulous in his preparation.

“These tunnels,” I begin, "I never knew about them.”

“They were deliberately kept off the main house plans,” Oz explains. “Your father didn't want anyone knowing all his potential escape routes.”

I shake my head. “Of course, he didn't.” The irony isn't lost on me that I am using my father's paranoia to save the son he never truly valued.