I pull my hand back slowly. “You asked if former board member Xavier Laurent is a problem. I brushed it off. But, he’s... well, he’s a bigger pain in the ass than I originally let on. Xavier is actively sabotaging us now.” I force myself to hold her gaze. “He’s planting forged documents. Creating paper trails that make it look like I knew about Diana’s fraud all along and profited from it.”
She leans forward slightly. “What?How long have you known?”
“Since before New Year’s. That’s why I came to Eleuthera. To get distance while my legal team investigates.” I run a hand through my hair. “And that’s part of why I asked you to co-lead the clinic. Your reputation for integrity, the visibility of doing real work here, it helps counter the narrative Xavier’s building. Buys me time to find proof before he destroys everything.”
Her eyes narrow slightly. “So hiring me was strategic.”
“Partly,” I admit, because lying now would undo everything. “But not just that. The work matters. The families we’re helping matter. And you...” I pause. “You matter. More than the strategy ever did.”
She’s quiet, processing. “What does Xavier want?”
“Control of the foundation. And me destroyed in the process.” The words taste bitter. “He’s positioning himself as the ‘ethical alternative’ to my leadership. The board member who tried to stop me back then, who’s now fighting my ‘pattern of negligence.’ If his version goes public before we can prove he forged the documents, he wins. The board will force me out and install him as chair. Every program we fund, every family we’re helping here, all of it goes down when he takes control.”
“What have you found so far?”
“Some of the forged emails. Trails that don’t match our actual document management systems. But I’m terrified we’re missing pieces. That he’s buried things too deep and we won’t find them until it’s too late.”
She squeezes my hand suddenly. “Then we keep looking. Together.”
Together.
The word should feel like relief.
Instead, it triggers every protective instinct inside me.
I pull back slightly, and I see her register the movement. “Amara, if this gets worse, if I lose control of the foundation, Idon’t want you caught in the wreckage. Your reputation, your career, everything you’ve built—”
Her hand goes slack in mine. “So you’re already planning to push me away.”
“I’m trying toprotectyou,” I protest.
“No.” She stands abruptly, her chair scraping against the terrace stone. “You’re doing what you always do. Exiling yourself before anyone else can leave first.” Her voice is steady but there’s steel underneath. “I don’tneedprotecting, Corin. I need a partner who trusts me to make my own choices about risk! When are you going to trust me?”
I stand, too, but she’s already moving toward the terrace railing. Her shoulders are tight, and I recognize the posture. It’s the same one she had five years ago when she walked out of my life the first time.
“Amara—”
“I’m going back to my villa.” She’s not looking at me. Just staring out at the dark ocean like it holds answers I can’t give her.
“Please. Just stay. We can talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She turns, and the disappointment on her face guts me. “You finally tell me the truth, and then immediately decide I can’t handle the consequences. That’s not partnership. That’s you deciding for me what I can and can’t survive.”
She walks on, and I watch her disappear down the stone path toward the resort.
I should follow her.
Or tell Keon to bring the SUV around so I can chase her down and say something that would make a difference.
But what would I say?
That I’m sorry?She knows that already.
That I want her?She knows that, too.
That I’m terrified of dragging her down with me when Xavier finally makes his move?Pretty fucking obvious at this point.
Ahh.
