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Sam persisted in invading her mind, despite Natalia’s efforts to block her out. The sensation of Sam’s fingers tangled with hers, the heat of her mouth, her low laughter in the darkness — all of it kept breaking through Natalia’s defenses.

Even worse, there was an intense longing in her chest. A nearly uncontainable desire to see her after nearly ten days apart. But she couldn’t give in to selfish desires. Not when she still couldn’t think clearly. Not when she couldn’t see the right choice.

With an irritated sigh, she clicked over to her email inbox, hoping for a distraction. Near the top sat a newly forwarded message from Leonard Mackenzie at Black Forge Films.

Natalia hesitated, cursor hovering over it. She knew she should delete it unread, like all the others. But she was tired after another night of insomnia and curiosity won out.

The message was a discussion between Mack and the film studio about the Lilith script. Natalia’s chest tightened as she scanned the alarming changes they proposed. Everything Sam had feared was coming to pass.

All the heat drained from her body. It was the worst possible scenario. With trembling fingers, she moved her mouse over the list of email recipients. There was Zoe’s name, but why hadn’t she chimed in on the thread? Why wasn’t she fighting to keep the project’s integrity intact?

Natalia sat back heavily, mind whirring. She shouldn’t get involved, she knew that. But how could she stay silent now that she knew the truth? Before she could think better of it, she picked up her office phone.

“Adriana,” she roared when she answered. “Grab Lola and get in here now.”

It had probably taken less than a minute for her two trusted associates to appear in her office, but Natalia’s rage had only intensified while waiting. She couldn’t care that they looked terrified to face her wrath.

“Did you know about the changes they want to make to Lilith’s story?” Natalia demanded.

The two women exchanged an uneasy glance. “We... we just found out,” Adriana said carefully.

“Just found out?” Natalia roared. “This is unacceptable! Why didn’t you come to me the moment something was wrong?”

Lola blanched but stood her ground. “With all due respect, you explicitly instructed us not to involve you in issues with the production. Or tell you anything?—”

Natalia waved a hand sharply. “Don’t give me that. I needed to be informed if things went off the rails. That project is too important.”

“We didn’t want to overstep,” Adriana said pleadingly. “You were so clear about maintaining distance.”

Frustrated heat flashed through Natalia’s veins. She knew she had no right to be angry with them for following her orders. But fear and lack of sleep had eroded her composure.

“Just tell me everything you know about the changes,” she spat. “Now.”

Her associates shared another worried look, then launched into an explanation. Natalia listened intently, hands clenched. She had to fix this. Had to make it right, no matter the cost.

“What would you have had us do? To try to save the movie and advocate for Sam, all we could do was negotiate. And we have been negotiating!”

Natalia pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t reveal how deeply and dangerously tied her own hands were. But they needed to understand the gravity of the threat they faced.

“Mack made it clear there will be... consequences if the production doesn’t align with his vision,” she said carefully. “Consequences for certain individuals close to the project.”

Lola’s huge, dark eyes blazed with the outrage Natalia was trying to keep contained. “What threats did he make? That’s blackmail! No, extortion - pretty sure that’s extortion.” She whipped out her phone. “I’m calling Carmen right now. We need a lawyer on this.”

“Lola, stop,” Natalia said sharply. “Put the phone away.”

“But if he’s?—”

“He’s playing hardball and cheating at it, but don’t lose focus. I’ve never cowed to a threat, and I’m certainly not going to start now.”

The fight drained from Lola’s stance. Natalia felt a pang of guilt. She shouldn’t have burdened them with the ugly truth of the situation. But it was too late to turn back now.

Natalia began gathering up her things, jaw set. “I’m going to handle this myself. I’ll just... bend my rules a bit to get this sorted out.”

“Wait.” Adriana stepped forward, uncharacteristically bold. “You can’t intervene directly. Not with Zoe’s interests tied up in this, too.”

Natalia froze, eyes flashing. “What exactly are you saying?”

“I’m saying you can’t openly advocate for Sam without going against your duties to Zoe,” Adriana said steadily. “If you fight for the original vision, you undermine the production. And if you push for the changes, you fail Sam.”