Ava left Ethan’s apartment with more questions than answers. The city streets felt colder, the night air sharp against her skin as she walked to her car. She replayed the conversation in her head, dissecting every word, every pause, every flicker of something she couldn’t quite name in Ethan’s expression.

  She didn’t trust him. Not entirely. And yet, something about the way he looked at her—the way he always seemed one step ahead—told her that whatever he was hiding, it wasn’t just about Calloway.

  As she reached for the car door, her phone vibrated. Another unknown number.

  Walk away. You don’t want to know how this ends.

  Ava exhaled slowly, then typed back.

  Try harder.

  The moment she hit send, a presence shifted behind her. Too quiet for a passerby. Too intentional.

  She spun, her instincts kicking in before her mind caught up. A figure loomed just outside the glow of the streetlight, watching. Waiting.

  She didn’t hesitate. "Either you say what you came to say, or you get the hell out of my way."

  The man stepped forward just enough for the light to hit his face—sharp features, a scar running from his temple to his jaw. Not a stranger. A ghost from her past.

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  "Ava," he said, his voice carrying something close to regret. "It’s worse than you think."

  Her pulse jumped, but she didn’t let it show. "Then start talking."

  He hesitated, then glanced past her toward Ethan’s apartment building. "You shouldn’t trust him."

  Ava’s fingers tightened around her keys. "Why?"

  "Because he’s not just in this—he’s part of why it started."

  Ava felt the air shift around her, a crack in the foundation of everything she thought she knew.

  She had suspected Ethan was hiding something.

  She hadn’t expected him to be at the center of it all.

  The man took another step forward, lowering his voice. "Your father was onto something bigger than just Calloway. He was building a case that could bring down an entire network—money laundering, corporate fraud, political blackmail. And Ethan—he was in the middle of it."

  Ava felt her heartbeat in her throat. "You’re lying."

  The man shook his head, his expression grim. "Think about it. Every time you’ve gotten close to something, who’s been there to steer you in just the right direction? Who gave you just enough information to keep looking—but never enough to find real answers?"

  Ava didn’t want to consider it. But the pieces—damn it, the pieces fit too well.

  "If you have proof, show me."

  The man exhaled, glancing around as if checking for eyes in the shadows. "Not here. Not now. But I will."

  He stepped back into the darkness, his voice barely above a whisper. "Be careful, Ava. You’re playing a game where everyone’s already chosen a side. And Ethan… he’s been playing longer than you realize."

  Then, just like that, he was gone.

  Ava stood frozen, the city humming around her, the weight of his words sinking deep.

  If Ethan had been part of this from the beginning, then everything—every moment, every look, every warning—it had all been a carefully placed move in a game she hadn’t even known she was playing.

  She gritted her teeth, a new resolve hardening inside her.

  If Ethan thought he could control the board, he was about to find out just how wrong he was.

  The rules had changed.

  And this time, she was making her own.