~Ava's POV~
I stared at the SEC alert on my screen and made myself look at it clearly.
Not with panic, not with the kind of rage that made you reactive and stupid. Just clearly.
And it was well-constructed. That was the part that kept snagging on me.
Reed had offered immunity. He'd packaged it beautifully, with the affidavit and the careful legal language and the timing that made it feel like we were the ones who'd cornered him. He'd made us feel like we were winning, so we'd leaned in. Moved forward with confidence. Shown more of our hand than we'd intended because we thought the game was almost over.
And while we were doing that, he was standing at a filing desk submitting a false SEC complaint that was now formally open.
Classic misdirection. Give your opponent something that look
