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Natalia opened her mouth to argue but found no words. Adriana was right. She was trapped between two impossible, colliding loyalties.

“You chose to make us your associates for a reason,” Adriana pressed on. “Trust us.”

Lola nodded firmly. “She’s right. We’ve got this, Natalia. Let us handle it.”

Natalia wavered, every instinct screaming to take control. But she was out of moves. With great effort, she nodded.

“I have an idea,” Adriana said with so much confidence, Natalia almost convinced herself to believe her.

“What is it?” Natalia asked, desperate for any glimmer of hope out of this nightmare.

“You know I can’t tell you,” she replied, standing her ground without dropping Natalia’s gaze. “Not until it’s done.”

Natalia struggled to maintain her composure as she acquiesced to letting Adriana and Lola take the lead. Every muscle in her body was taut, nerves jangling with the monumental effort of not seizing back control.

She had built her career on handling things herself, trusting no one. The thought of handing responsibility for something this critical over to anyone else made acid burn in the back of her throat.

But she was out of options. Adriana had backed her into a corner by pointing out the irreconcilable conflict of interests if Natalia intervened directly. As much as it galled her, she had to step aside for the greater good.

Natalia glanced between the two women, jaw clenched. Could she really trust them to manage this precarious situation? To chart the right course between clashing loyalties and avoid disaster for all involved?

Looking into Adriana’s steady, compassionate eyes, Natalia felt the anxiety churning within her settle slightly. She had chosen them for a reason. Their competence and integrity had never wavered since. Natalia had to silence the voice screaming at her to take the reins back and do this her way.

She swallowed hard and gave a terse nod. “Alright. The ball’s in your court now. Don’t let me down.”

The quiet confidence emanating from Adriana and Lola eased her doubts, if only marginally. Natalia still felt like a tightly coiled spring as she watched them leave to set this secret plan in motion. But she forced herself to remain still, hands balled into fists.

This was out of her control. What choice did she have but to trust them with the future of everything that mattered to her?

Staying out of a fight went against every fiber of Natalia’s being. She paced her office like a caged tiger, muscles wound tight.

She’d lowered the shades on her glass-encased office to avoid looking into the conference room where she knew Adriana and Lola were meeting with Black Forge. With the sun having long set, Natalia’s usually bright, airy office felt like a dungeon cell.

It was excruciating not knowing what they were planning. Natalia’s mind raced with all the ways this could go catastrophically wrong. She pictured the studio burying Lilith’s adaptation in endless rounds of development hell until Sam eventually gave up. Or worse, they could let it languish in limbo, with Sam having no chance of getting Lilith back.

Natalia’s lip curled. The thought of that made her want to break out of her own skin. Made her want to turn back and refuse Zoe’s petulant demands.

Natalia could have told the girls how to kill the deal. Let Sam take the hit on the liquidated damages clause. It would be like none of this ever happened, no harm done in the end. She’d already told her she hadn’t spent the money. The harm would be minimal.

But she couldn’t suggest that without undermining Zoe’s interests in getting the film made. Natalia pressed her fists to her temples, head throbbing. She was trapped, forced to watch this precarious situation unfold without any control.

She screamed internally even as she clenched her jaw. A whirlwind of curses echoed in her mind while a wave of shame and guilt and regret strangled the oxygen from her lungs.

To her horror, it was the thoughts of losing Sam that made taking a deep breath impossible. She wasn’t afraid of Mack’s threats, and she hadn’t technically crossed the line so far with Zoe’s interests that her reputation would be tarnished. It was Sam that she couldn’t fight her way back to — Sam that she didn’t want to slip through her fingers.

Natalia’s knees nearly buckled under the weight of her anxiety. She should be in that room. On the call. Should be the one finding a solution, handling this crisis. Instead, she wore a rut in the tile, uselessly speculating about worst-case scenarios.

Natalia squeezed her eyes shut, breath coming sharp and fast. The not knowing was agony.

She stopped her frantic pacing, realization crashing over her. This was a massive mistake. She never should have secured the rights for Zoe in the first place.

Somewhere deep down, she had known even then that Sam would never be able to hold on to her vision through the studio machine. But Natalia had only been thinking of advancing Zoe’s career, not the consequences for Sam.

Her hands trembled with emotion she could no longer suppress. This was so much bigger than business. For longer than she cared to admit, her heart had been invested in protecting Sam, not just serving Zoe.

Natalia glanced at the closed office door. She should be in there fighting for Sam, but it was her heart she was more interested in. Consequences be damned — she had to make this right.

Before she could second guess herself, Natalia grabbed her keys and headed for the elevator. She sped out of the parking garage, driving on autopilot to Sam’s house. It was late, but she couldn’t wait another second. She’d already waited too long.