The realization that I had inadvertently placed a target on her back hit me harder than any market crash could’ve. I had been so focused on the victory, on the way she looked in that suit, that I’d ignored the predatory reality of our world. Kayvan was cornered, and a cornered wolf doesn’t care about spreadsheets, he looks for throats to tear.
The weight of the tablet as I passed it to her felt like lead in my hands. I watched Tess as she stared at the grainy photo of herself. She looked smaller in the charcoal cashmere. She looked less like the Red Queen and more like the woman I’d snatched from her life. Guilt swelled in my chest, sharpened by the cold edge of fear.
“I didn’t think they’d move that fast,” I whispered. “The forum is private, but the leak is intentional. Kayvan is sign
