Not cruel.

Just true.

A younger guard burst into the room.

“We intercepted chatter. Leone’s crews are sweeping the harbor district.”

“They found us?” Viktor asked.

“Not yet.”

Adrien looked toward Emily.

Then toward the silver-haired woman.

“Get her upstairs.”

Emily stood immediately.

“I’m not hiding while your psycho enemies shoot up buildings.”

“You’ll do exactly that.”

His voice wasn’t loud.

It didn’t need to be.

Emily hated herself for listening.

The upstairs office overlooked the warehouse floor through tinted glass.

The silver-haired woman handed Emily a towel.

“I’m Sofia.”

Emily accepted it reluctantly.

“You work for him?”

“For twenty years.”

“Why?”

Sofia smiled faintly.

“Because he keeps his word.”

Emily almost laughed.

“He’s a criminal.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

Sofia leaned against the desk.

“Most powerful men are criminals, Emily. Some simply wear cleaner suits.”

Emily looked away.

Part of her wanted to hate Adrien completely.

It would’ve been easier.

But she kept remembering small things.

The way he protected the diner staff during the shooting.

The fact he told her the truth about Mateo.

The strange sadness in his eyes when speaking about her brother.

Downstairs, raised voices echoed.

Then footsteps.

Adrien entered the office alone.

Sofia immediately left without a word.

Emily crossed her arms.

“What now?”

“We move before dawn.”

“To where?”

“Somewhere Leone won’t expect.”

“You mean somewhere I can’t escape.”

Adrien considered that.

“You could try.”

“Is that supposed to sound reassuring?”

A faint smile touched his mouth.

Emily studied him carefully.

Without the expensive coat and restaurant lighting, he looked different.

Sharper.

More dangerous.

And exhausted.

“You really knew my brother?”

“What was he like?”

Adrien looked genuinely surprised by the question.

Then something softened in his expression.

“Stubborn. Loyal. Terrible at poker.”

Emily almost smiled despite herself.

“He cheated at Monopoly.”

“That sounds accurate.”

Silence settled between them.

Rain tapped softly against the windows now.

Less violent.

More patient.

Emily’s voice lowered.

“Did he suffer?”

She searched his face for a lie.

Found none.

A strange ache tightened in her chest.

“Why tell me all this?”

“Because Mateo died protecting information connected to the ledger.”

“And?”

Adrien stepped closer.

“And I think you have it.”

Emily blinked.

“What?”

“Mateo hid things.”

“I don’t know anything about a ledger.”

“He trusted almost no one.”

Adrien’s dark eyes locked onto hers.

“But he trusted you.”

Emily shook her head.

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I?”

She thought back desperately.

Old memories surfaced.

Mateo fixing loose floorboards in their apartment.

Hiding envelopes inside books.

Always paranoid.

Always watching windows.

Then suddenly—

Her breath caught.

The music box.

A cheap wooden music box Mateo gave her days before he died.

She hadn’t touched it in years.

Adrien saw realization flash across her face.

“There it is.”

Emily stood abruptly.

“You had me followed?”

“You manipulated me.”

“I asked a question.”

Fury surged through her grief.

“You don’t get to use my brother like this.”

Adrien’s expression hardened.

“And Leone doesn’t get to erase him.”

Before Emily could answer, alarms exploded through the warehouse.

Red lights flashed.

Gunfire erupted downstairs.

Sofia’s voice shouted through speakers.

“They breached the south entrance!”

Everything happened at once.

Men grabbed weapons.

The building shook from an explosion.