AVA MONROE'S POV
I didn't sleep that night.
The envelope sat on my bedside table like a loaded gun,daring me to pretend everything was normal.
But everything had shifted. Someone knew about Jake. About
the meeting. About me.
I stared at the ceiling, counting seconds. By morning, I had made a decision.
I needed to find out who was behind it, before Ethan did.
Breakfast was a silent war.
Ethan read the Financial Times. I sipped my coffee and tried not to choke on the anxiety rising in my throat.
He didn't speak. Neither did I.
But I could feel it, his eyes flicking up to observe me between paragraphs.
Was he testing me?.
Or just waiting for me to crack?.
Later that afternoon, I slipped away.
This time, I didn't go to Jake.
I went to her.
To her.
The woman in the photo with Ethan.
It had taken two weeks, several fake calls, and more social engineering than I care to admit, but I'd found her.
Her name was Natalia March.
