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Monica stares at the table, shoulders curling inward. She's collapsing under the weight of both the past and the future.

“I guess he never got over me. The divorce. It’s so ironic…” she swallows, blinking as if trying to chase away ghosts. “I talked to Raul about him. I thought Jack would eventually move on. Raul didn’t.”

Erica makes a small noise in her throat. “You know, youreallyshould start listening to him.”

“Jack’s obsession was deeper than I wanted to admit,” Monica murmurs, her eyes lost in the dark, like she’s retracing every misstep that brought us here. “He must’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to prove something to Ivan. Whatever he showed him, it was enough.”

A tightness coils in my chest.

“You’re missing something,” I say, my voice sharper than I intend. “Jack saw Raul shift—right before Raul stopped him from hurting Monica. After that, it wouldn’t take much to start digging. Hire a PI. Hack records. Spy on us himself.”

A voice cuts through the tension. “Who’s been spying on us?”

We all turn as Sam emerges from the shadows near his cabin, his expression carved from stone. His eyes flick between us, jaw tense, like he knows he’s not going to like the answer.

Erica hesitates, then breathes out, “Monica’s ex.”

Sam’s whole body tightens. “Tell me you’re fucking joking.”

Raul and Ray come around the corner right behind Sam and even in the dim light, I see the fury brewing beneath Ray’s skin.

“Donahue?ThatDonahue? Last I checked, he was some wannabe copywriter with delusions of grandeur.”

Monica doesn’t blink. She stabs her finger at the phone like it’s a weapon.

“Jack had the motive and the idea. Ivan had the money. Together, they have the means.”

The silence that follows is suffocating. And I can’t shake the feeling that whatever comes next… none of us are ready.

“Shit. Those two must have teamed up with Dexter,” Ray says, circling behind my chair, voice low but biting. “It makes sense. They all win if we fall. Donahue gets revenge. Peterson gets richer. Dexter grabs what he couldn’t steal alone.”

Raul doesn’t blink. His voice slices the air, cold and sure.

“Over my dead body.” His jaw tightens, his expression hardening like stone. “We deal with Dexter and his mutts later. Donahue and his buddy come first.”

“I agree about Donahue,” Sam says, folding his arms. “But the buddy? He’s a much bigger problem. He may have gotten onto this by following Donahue’s lead, but Peterson’s a billionaire. He’s probably holed up in some guarded penthouse in Soho. Storming that? It’d be suicide. We should leave him alone.”

“After what that fuck did to you? No. No way, Sammy, you’re wrong,” Ray cuts in, sharp. “Peterson sees profit and now we’ve bled him. You think he’ll let this go no matter what we do to Donahue? He’ll come after us with more resources than we can even imagine.”

Raul nods slowly, rubbing his chin.

“Good point, kid. We need to cut the head off this snake. Best possibility is that we find them together. Kill them both, leaving no time for the other to retaliate.”

Monica stands, phone aglow in her hand. “I think I know just the place,” she says, eyes sharp with certainty. “Eco Med is hosting a fundraiser at the Mandarin Oriental in New York. Three days from now.”

Raul frowns, looking skeptical. “A packed hotel in the city? How the hell do we pull that off?”

“We’ll find a way,” Sam says with quiet confidence. “The key is getting them in the same room. At the same time.”

“Perfect,” Ray mutters, and suddenly he’s reaching for my wrist. “Time to go.”

“Hey!” I yelp, startled. “What the hell is that for?”

He doesn’t stop walking, but he glances back with something unreadable in his eyes.

“Because I owe you something,” he says. “Because I oweussomething.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, my chest tightening.