Emma stood in silence as she watched Ryan, his words hanging in the air with heavy suspicion.
“This isn't just about the money, Emma,” he repeated, looking at Emma straight into her eyeballs.
Emma swallowed hard. She felt Ryan's eyes on her, expecting explanations she wasn't prepared to share. But he was right. The money she owed wasn’t the whole truth, and that man’s rage wasn’t just about the debt. There was something she had taken—something personal—that made him furious.
“I didn’t just borrow the money,” she whispered, finally breaking the silence. Her fingers twisted nervously in her lap. “I stole something from him… something valuable.”
Ryan’s expression darkened. “What was it?”
Emma’s throat tightened as she recalled the day she fled. “It was a USB drive,” she admitted, her voi
