The call comes at noon, right on schedule.
"Missing me yet, firefly?" Rhys's voice pours through the speaker like honey laced with arsenic. "I've been thinking about you all morning."
"I've been thinking too."
I cradle the phone against my shoulder, watching Milo sleep.
"Actually, I've been doing research. Trying to understand the business side of things. Victor showed me some files when he was accusing me of sabotage, and I couldn't stop thinking about the shell company structures."
"Research. Since when do you care about corporate finance?"
"Since my husband got arrested and I realized I have no idea how any of this works. The money trails, the offshore accounts. Like that one company—what was it called? Meridian Holdings International?"
The silence that follows is so complete I can hear my own heartbeat.
"Where did you hear about that?"
His voice has changed. The warmth is gone.
My stomach drops through the floor.
Meridian Holdings International. One of the shell companies in Tessa's research. One that traces directly back to Rhys's Swiss accounts.
"Victor's files. When he was threatening me at the estate, he had all these documents spread out, and I remember seeing that name because it sounded so official—"
"Victor's files." He says it slowly, tasting each word. "Victor's files, which are kept in a locked safe requiring biometric access. You expect me to believe my uncle showed you documents connecting me to shell companies he doesn't even know exist?"
"Rhys, I'm just trying to understand what's happening."
"What have you figured out, Elara? What exactly do you think you know?"
"Nothing. I don't know anything. I was just trying to make sense of all these accusations flying around, and I thought maybe you could explain it to me—"
"You're lying." The accusation lands like a slap. "I can hear it in your voice. You're a terrible liar, firefly."
"I'm not lying. I swear—"
The line goes dead.
Shit.
I grab Milo from his crib so fast he startles awake with a cry. Diaper bag. Keys. Phone. I'm out the door in under sixty seconds, my heart hammering so hard I can barely breathe.
Tessa answers on the first ring.
"He knows. Rhys knows I've been investigating him. I slipped up on a phone call, and now he's coming to the apartment. Can I come to you? Please, I don't know where else to go."
"Get here. Now. I'm calling security."
The cab ride takes seventeen minutes. Each one feels like an hour.
Tessa meets me at the elevator.
"Tell me everything. What exactly did you say?"
"I mentioned one of his Swiss shell companies. I was trying to play dumb, pretend I'd seen it in Victor's files, but he didn't believe me."
"Okay, we can handle this. The doorman's been warned not to let anyone up without calling first—"
The buzzer sounds.
We both freeze.
"I know you're there, Elara." Rhys's voice comes through the intercom, calm and conversational. "The doorman was very helpful once I explained I was family. I just want to talk."
"Don't answer it." Tessa moves toward the panel. "If we don't respond, he'll have to leave."
The lock clicks.
The door swings open.
Rhys stands in the threshold, a key dangling from his fingers.
"Had this made weeks ago, when I was helping you move. Insurance policy."
"Get out of my apartment." Tessa steps between us. "I'm calling the police."
"Go ahead. Tell them your friend's cousin stopped by for a chat." He closes the door behind him. "Now. Someone want to explain why my name is appearing in places it shouldn't?"
"I told you, I saw it in Victor's files. I was trying to understand the accusations against Caspian—"
"Stop." He holds up one hand. "I gave you every chance, Elara. I showed you what it felt like to be chosen. I was patient. I thought this is the life we're supposed to have."
"The life you manipulated me into wanting. You were watching me for months before you sent that invitation."
Something shifts in his expression. The charming mask is slipping.
"You have been busy. Who told you about the cameras? Caspian?"
"Does it matter? I know about the board members you compromised, the shell companies, the payments to Genevieve. You destroyed your own family to get what you wanted."
"I destroyed the family that destroyed me first." His voice goes flat. "Do you know what it's like to watch your mother die on a six-inch screen? Victor and Rowena took everything from me. They owe me a debt I intend to collect."
"By framing Caspian? By seducing his wife?"
"By taking what should have been mine from the beginning."
His hand shoots out and closes around Tessa's throat.
The movement is so fast I barely register it before my best friend is gasping, her fingers clawing at his grip, her face going red.
"What did you tell her, Elara? What exactly does she know?"
"Let her go." My voice comes out strangled. "Please, she has nothing to do with this."
"She has everything to do with this. Her father's firm has been digging into my accounts for weeks."
Tessa's eyes are bulging. Her lips are turning blue.
"You should have chosen me." His voice is eerily calm. "We could have been happy."
My hand finds the knife block on Tessa's kitchen counter.
The blade is against his ribs before I consciously decide to move.
"Let her go or I'll kill you myself."
He goes very still, blue-green eyes finding mine with something that might be respect.
"There she is. The fire I always knew was hiding underneath all that good-wife polish."
"I'm not playing. Release her. Now."
His fingers uncurl from Tessa's throat. She stumbles backward, gasping and coughing.
"Back toward the door. Slowly."
He raises both hands in mock surrender.
"You know, Caspian doesn't deserve you. All that passion wasted on a man who couldn't be bothered to notice you were drowning."
"Move."
He backs toward the door, and I follow, the knife never wavering.
"One more thing, firefly." He pauses at the threshold, smile turning cruel. "You think Caspian will want you when he knows everything?"
My grip on the knife tightens.
"The texts you sent me." He laughs softly. "I saved everything, Elara."
"Get out."
"I'm going. But this isn't over. You chose wrong, Elara. And now you're going to live with the consequences."
The door closes behind him.
I stand frozen, knife still raised, until Tessa's arms wrap around me and I finally let myself break.