Lily's POV
Sarah Mitchell's law office is nothing like I expected.
It's not some sterile corporate tower. It's a converted loft in Pioneer Square with exposed brick, floor-to-ceiling windows, and the kind of casual elegance that screams I'm successful but don't need to prove it.
Connor and I sit on a leather couch while Sarah pulls out a laptop and three thick folders.
Before we start, Sarah says, I need you both to understand something. What I'm about to show you is going to change everything you think you know about Nathan Kim, Madison Reed, and, She glances at Connor. Jessica Reeves.
Connor's jaw is tight. Where is Jessica?
She'll be here shortly. She wanted me to brief you first. Sarah opens the first folder. Lily, you met Nathan two years ago, correct?
Yes. In grad school.
And he pursued you. Made you feel special. Chosen.
The words hit too close. How did you
Because that's his pattern. Sarah slides a photo across the table. This is Emma Rodriguez. Nathan dated her three years ago. She was a marketing manager at a tech startup. He got her fired by claiming she leaked proprietary information to competitors. She couldn't find work in Seattle for a year.
My stomach twists.
Sarah slides another photo. This is Kayla Washington. Nathan dated her four years ago. She was a journalist. After they broke up, Nathan's family sued her for defamation when she tried to write about his business practices. She lost everything fighting the lawsuit.
More photos. More women. More destroyed lives.
Nathan has a pattern, Sarah continues. He targets successful, independent women. Pursues them aggressively. Once they're committed, he isolates them from friends and family. Then he orchestrates a public betrayal—usually involving Madison Reed—and systematically destroys their reputation and career.
Why? My voice is barely a whisper.
Because he can. Because his father taught him that women are either assets or obstacles. And when you stopped being useful, you became an obstacle.
Connor's hands curl into fists. How long has Madison been helping him?
Since college. She gets off on it. The power. The control. Destroying other women makes her feel superior. Sarah opens her laptop. But here's where it gets interesting. Jessica Reeves figured out Nathan's pattern. And she's been collecting evidence for two years.
Connor goes very still. What does Jessica have to do with Nathan?
Sarah's expression softens. Connor, Jessica didn't leave you because you said Lily's name in your sleep.
Yes, she did. She told me
She lied. To protect you. Sarah turns the laptop toward us. On screen is an email dated eight months ago. Jessica left because Nathan threatened her. Told her if she didn't break up with you, he'd destroy her career the same way he destroyed his ex-girlfriends. She left to protect you from his father's influence in the architecture world.
The room spins.
That's not Connor's voice cracks. She said she couldn't be with someone who was in love with someone else.
She said that because it was easier than telling you the truth. That Nathan Kim had been threatening her for months. That he was obsessed with controlling you. That he saw your relationship with her as a betrayal of your friendship.
Nathan threatened Jessica? I can barely process this. Why?
Because Nathan is a narcissist who views people as possessions. Connor was his best friend—his possession. When Connor started dating Jessica, Nathan felt threatened. So he did what he always does. He destroyed the relationship.
Connor stands abruptly, pacing. I need to talk to Jessica. Right now.
You will. But first, you need to see this. Sarah plays a video on her laptop.
It's security footage from a restaurant. Nathan and Madison sitting at a table, drinks in front of them. The timestamp is from six months ago.
There's audio.
—getting too serious with that architect, Madison is saying. You need to do something.
I know. Nathan's voice is cold. Calculating. Jessica's the problem. Connor would've moved on by now if she wasn't in the picture.
So make her leave.
I am. I have photos of her with her ex-boyfriend. Doctored, but convincing. I'll send them to Connor, make him think she's cheating.
And if that doesn't work?
Nathan smiles. It's the smile I used to think was charming. Now it looks like a predator playing with food.
Then I'll destroy her career. Dad has connections in her industry. One word from him, and she'll be blacklisted. She'll have to choose—her career or Connor.
You're evil, Madison says admiringly.
I'm loyal. Connor is mine. He doesn't get to replace me with some woman who thinks she's better than us.
The video ends.
I feel sick.
Connor, I whisper. He threatened Jessica because of you. Because he couldn't stand losing you.
Connor's face is white. I need to see her. Now.
As if on cue, the office door opens.
A woman walks in, tall, dark hair, beautiful in a quiet way. She's carrying a box of files.
Jessica Reeves.
She sees Connor and stops.
For a moment, they just stare at each other. Two people with a shared history I'm only beginning to understand.
Hi, Connor, Jessica says softly.
You lied to me. Connor's voice is rough. You let me think I drove you away. That I wasn't enough
I know. I'm sorry. Jessica sets down the box. But Nathan's father was going to destroy my company. He was going to ruin everything I built. I had to choose.
You should have told me!
And what would you have done? Confronted Nathan? His father? They would've destroyed you too. Your architecture firm. Your reputation. Everything. Jessica's eyes fill with tears. I loved you too much to let that happen.
The confession hangs in the air.
I should leave. This is too private. Too raw.
But I can't move.
Connor takes a step toward Jessica. You said I was in love with someone else. You said—
I said what I needed to say to make you let me go. Because the truth—that Nathan Kim was holding my entire career hostage to control you—would've made you do something stupid and heroic. And I couldn't watch you destroy yourself for me.
So you destroyed us instead.
Yes. Jessica wipes her eyes. And I've regretted it every day since. But Connor, you need to understand—Nathan was obsessed with you. With controlling you. When you started dating me, he saw me as competition for your loyalty. And when you started pulling away from him because you saw how he treated Lily— She looks at me. —he lost his mind.
Wait. My voice sounds strange. You know about me?
Jessica nods. I know everything. Connor talked about you constantly. The woman trapped in a relationship with his best friend. The woman he couldn't stop thinking about even though he knew it was wrong. Nathan saw it too. That's why he was so vicious when you tried to leave him. He needed to destroy you so Connor would have nothing to fight for.
My brain can't process this fast enough.
So Nathan threatening me, orchestrating my public humiliation—that was about Connor?
That was about control. Nathan needs to win. Always. And he couldn't stand that you might move on. That Connor might, Jessica stops. Looks between us. Are you two together now?
No, Connor and I say simultaneously.
But it sounds like a lie even to my own ears.
Sarah clears her throat. As touching as this reunion is, we have work to do. Jessica, show them what you found.
Jessica opens the box. Inside are files. Dozens of them.
I've been investigating Nathan for two years. Ever since he threatened me, I knew he'd done this before. I found four other women he destroyed. Collected their stories. Their evidence. Security footage. Text messages. Financial records showing Richard Kim paying people to lie in court. She pulls out a thick folder. And then I found this.
She opens the folder. Inside is a contract.
I lean closer, reading the title: REPUTATION INSURANCE AGREEMENT.
What is this? Connor asks.
It's a contract between Richard Kim and a private investigation firm. They specialize in 'reputation management'—which is code for fabricating evidence, bribing witnesses, and destroying anyone who threatens the Kim family name. Jessica points to a line item. Look at the dates. Every woman Nathan dated has a corresponding payment to this firm. They were paid to create fake evidence of cheating, harassment, criminal behavior—whatever Richard needed to discredit the women and protect Nathan.
My hands shake. They've been doing this professionally? For years?
Yes. And they've gotten away with it because the women were too scared or too broke to fight back. Jessica looks at me. But you have something they didn't.
What?
Me. Sarah. Connor. And Jessica pulls out her phone. —a reporter from the Seattle Times who's been investigating the Kim family's business practices for months. She's ready to publish everything. She just needed victims willing to go on record.
You want me to go public? My voice rises. Nathan will destroy me worse than he already has—
Not if we destroy him first. Sarah's voice is steel. Lily, we have security footage of Nathan creating fake texts from your phone. We have proof that Madison and Nathan planned your public humiliation. We have four other women ready to testify about similar patterns. And we have financial records showing Richard Kim paid a firm to fabricate evidence against you.
That's enough to bury them, Jessica adds. But we need you to be brave enough to use it.
I look at Connor. He's watching me with those intense gray eyes.
This could get ugly, he says quietly. The Kims will fight back. Hard.
I know.
They might come after everyone you care about. Your family. Your friends. Me.
I know.
So the question is, do you want to fight? Or do you want to walk away and let Nathan win?
Two weeks ago, I would've walked away. Would've accepted that people like Nathan always win and people like me always lose.
But two weeks ago, I hadn't seen the security footage. Hadn't met the other women Nathan destroyed. Hadn't learned that Jessica sacrificed her relationship with Connor to protect him from Nathan's cruelty.
Two weeks ago, I was still convenient.
I want to fight, I say.
Sarah smiles. Good. Because we have one more piece of evidence that's going to make this very interesting.
She pulls out a final folder. Opens it.
Inside is a photo of Nathan and Madison. But they're not alone.
There's a third person in the photo. A woman I don't recognize.
Who is that? I ask.
That, Sarah says, is Nathan's wife.
The room goes silent.
His what? Connor's voice is deadly quiet.
Nathan Kim has been married for three years. To a woman named Christine Park. Daughter of a business associate of Richard Kim's. The marriage was arranged to merge two real estate empires. Sarah slides more photos across the table. Every woman Nathan dated—including you, Lily—was a mistress. He's been cheating on his wife their entire marriage. And Christine has been looking for a way out.
My vision blurs. He was married. The whole time.
Yes. And Christine is willing to testify that Nathan and Madison's relationship is part of a pattern of cruelty and manipulation that Richard Kim orchestrates. She has recordings. Emails. Everything.
Where is she? Connor demands.
Safe house. Under protection. Richard Kim is a dangerous man, and Christine is terrified of what he'll do when this goes public.
I stare at the photo of Nathan with his secret wife. The life he hid from me. From all of us.
He proposed to me, I whisper. He asked me to marry him.
While already married, Jessica says gently. Which makes him a bigamist. That's a felony.
The pieces click together. Nathan wasn't just cruel. He was criminal.
My phone buzzes. Everyone tenses.
It's a text from an unknown number.
Unknown: I know you went to a lawyer. Big mistake, Lily. Drop this now, or I'll make sure everyone you love pays the price. This is your only warning. -N
Connor reads over my shoulder. His expression goes dark.
That's it. He stands. We're going to the police. Right now. With everything.
Wait. Sarah holds up a hand. We need to be strategic. If we go to the police now, Richard Kim will use his connections to bury the investigation. We need to go public first. Media exposure. Then the police won't be able to ignore it.
How long will that take? I ask.
The reporter can publish tomorrow. Once the story breaks, we file a lawsuit. Criminal charges. Everything.
Tomorrow? My voice shakes. Nathan's going to know we're coming for him.
Good, Jessica says fiercely. Let him be scared for once.
Sarah closes her laptop. Go home. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we go to war.
Connor and I leave the office in silence.
The Uber ride back to the apartment is tense. I keep replaying everything. Nathan's secret wife. Jessica's sacrifice. The other women he destroyed.
Connor, I finally say. Jessica loved you. Still loves you.
I know.
She gave up everything to protect you.
I know. His voice is tight.
Do you still love her?
Connor looks at me. Really looks at me.
I care about Jessica. I probably always will. She's a good person who got hurt because Nathan's a monster. He pauses. But no. I'm not in love with her. I haven't been for a long time.
Since when?
Since the day you walked into my apartment looking like you'd been through hell and still had the strength to fight with me about coffee. His hand finds mine. I tried to get over you. Dated Jessica to forget you. It didn't work. It was never going to work.
The confession hangs between us as the Uber pulls up to the apartment.
We climb the stairs in silence. Connor unlocks the door.
The apartment is dark.
Too dark.
Connor flips the light switch. Nothing happens.
Power's out? I whisper.
No. Connor's voice is tense. Something's wrong.
He reaches for his phone flashlight.
The beam catches something on the living room wall.
Words. Spray-painted in red.
KEEP TALKING AND EVERYONE YOU LOVE DIES.
My blood turns to ice.
Connor pulls me behind him, moving through the apartment carefully.
The kitchen. The bathroom. His bedroom.
All untouched.
Then we get to my bedroom.
The door is open. I know I closed it this morning.
Connor shines the light inside.
My room is destroyed. Clothes shredded. Mattress slashed. Mirror broken.
And on my bed, surrounded by torn photos of me, is a single black rose.
Attached is a note in handwriting I recognize immediately.
This is what happens when you don't listen. Next time, it won't be your room. It'll be you. Or Connor. Or Jazz. Your choice. Stop now. -Your Biggest Mistake
Connor's hand tightens on mine.
We're calling the police, he says.
But my phone is already ringing.
Jazz's name lights up the screen.
I answer. Hello?
Lily? Jazz's voice is panicked. Terrified. Someone just broke into my apartment. They left a message on my wall. It says—
She chokes on a sob.
It says 'Tell Lily to stop, or you're next.'
The phone slips from my hand.
Connor catches it. Jazz? Where are you? Are you safe?
I can't hear her response. Can't hear anything over the rushing in my ears.
Nathan didn't just threaten me.
He threatened Jazz. The one person who helped me when I had nothing.
Connor's talking urgently into the phone. Telling Jazz to go to a hotel. To not stay at her apartment.
But I'm staring at the destroyed room. The black rose. The message.
Nathan just declared war.
And he's willing to hurt everyone I love to win.