Page 11 of Storm Warning

For a heartbeat, Victoria looked like she might argue. Her mouth opened, closed. Her face cycled through outrage, disbelief, and finally something that might have been fear.

Then she drew herself up, smoothing her Versace suit with shaking hands, trying to salvage some dignity from the wreckage. “You’ll regret this. When the truth comes out about the incompetence here?—“

“Ms. Evans.” Zach’s voice cut through her words like a blade through silk. “Now.”

He moved to the door, holding it open. The gesture appeared courteous, but the steel in his posture, the cold promise in his eyes, made it unmistakable that courtesy was the only thing preventing him from physically removing her.

Victoria’s heels clicked against the hardwood as she stalked to the door, each step radiating wounded pride and poorly suppressed fury. She paused in the doorway, turning back.

“You deserve everything that’s coming,” she spat. “Everything.”I can’t wait to see them fail when that new resort opens.

Then she was gone, Zach following in her wake.

Nick stood alone in his office, the sudden silence almost oppressive. His hands trembled—adrenaline, anger, the aftermath of conflict he hated even when it was necessary.

He sank back into his chair, the leather creaking. Through the window, the sea stretched dark and infinite.

That was ugly,David’s mental voice drifted in, concerned.You okay?

Nick scrubbed his hands over his face.Yeah. Just... Christ. The viciousness of it. She was willing to destroy Lena’s career, damage guest experiences, create chaos—all because she felt entitled to a promotion she hadn’t earned.

And that parting shot?

I know.Nick’s gut twisted.That wasn’t just anger talking. That was... something else.

A threat?

Or a warning.Nick pulled up his email, fingers moving across the keyboard.I want a full audit of everything Victoria had access to. Every system, every file, every interaction for the past six months. And get Ghost digging into her finances, her communications, everything. That comment was too specific to be just spite.

Already on it,David replied.And Nick? You did the right thing. She was toxic, and she was escalating. Better to cut her loose now.

Nick believed that. But something nagged at him—a whisper of unease that wouldn’t be stifled.

Victoria had been with them since the resort opened. Years of exemplary performance reviews, of steady competence. And then, in the last few months, things had degraded. High turnover at the front desk, escalating guest complaints. Now, the reservation sabotage.

People didn’t just change like that without a reason.Regardless of what she said, there was no way she broke those blocks just to prove some ridiculous point.

Was she working for someone? She’d said ‘we’. The thought crystallized with uncomfortable clarity. What if breaking the blocks was an opening move in something larger?

He thought about Kate Danvers, weary and vulnerable, standing in the lobby. Thought about how Victoria’s actions would have affected her—a writer on deadline, already stretched to breaking, arriving to find her guaranteed accommodation unavailable. The kind of experience that could have ended in a viral social media disaster, damaged reputation, lost revenue.

But more than that—it would have been cruel. Deliberately, calculatedly cruel to someone who’d done nothing to deserve it.

Zach interrupted his thoughts:She’s off property. Went quietly once she realized I wouldn’t engage. Parking lot camera caught her making a phone call the moment she got to her car. Ghost is pulling the records now.

Nick’s jaw tightened.Yeah, something’s going on here. This is not just spite.

Headed back. You sound like you need a drink.

Nick huffed a quiet laugh despite everything.That obvious?

Brother, I can feel your stress from here. Come on. Let’s regroup at the Residence. David’s already sourcing everything we’ll need for the deep dive. We’ll figure out what Victoria was up to.

Nick pushed back from his desk, muscles protesting. The confrontation had left him wound tight, neck knotted with tension.

He took one last look at his office—the rich wood paneling, the water view, the cultivated atmosphere of success and control. Everything they’d built here, everything Ivory Sands represented.

Someone may be coming after it. Coming after them.