The man had dissolved back into the crowd the moment his words landed.
Duke checked exits. Hallways. Restrooms. Nothing. No suspicious loitering. No hurried retreat.
Just people.
Too many people.
The moderator called for a break. Duke and his team regrouped in the back minutes later—frustrated, empty-handed, adrenaline still spiking.
“He was here.” Andi crossed her arms, not fearful but angry.
Duke nodded. “Yes, I believe he was.”
However, he knew deep in his gut that the killer hadn’t come to expose himself.
He’d come to send a message.
And he’d done exactly that.
The cold, familiar weight of it settled into Duke’s chest.
The event itself had become part of this man’s game.
Duke had no idea what this guy had planned next.
Andi leaned against the wall backstage, heart still racing, the echo of that question ringing louder in her head than the applause ever had. The fluorescent lights were unforgiving, too bright, too steady—like the world insisting everything was normal when it absolutely wasn’t.
“He was here.” Andi’s voice didn’t shake, but she felt the aftershock of everything in her bones. “That wasn’t a coincidence. That question was planned.”
Matthew nodded. “The phrasing. The timing. It referenced the podcast without naming it. He wanted it public.”
“And untraceable,” Duke added.
A staff member poked her head in, hesitant. “We’re supposed to transition to the meet-and-greet in fifteen minutes.”
“Do we still do it?” Simmy asked, her voice soft with concern.
For the first time since leaving the stage, Andi felt fear creep in—not for herself, but for everyone who would line up with open smiles and phones in their hands.
Before anyone could answer, Rupert burst backstage, already mid-spiral. “We cannot cancel. Not now. Not after that. If we pull back, it looks like guilt. Like fear. This man wants disruption—we don’t give it to him.”
Andi turned toward Duke, waiting.
He didn’t hesitate. “He’s right.”
Everyone looked at him.
“That’s the best advice Rupert has ever given us,” Duke continued. “We don’t let this guy dictate our actions. We stay visible. We stay together. We stay present.”
Rupert blinked, momentarily stunned. “Did you just?—”
“Yes,” Duke said. “I did. I agreed with you.”
Andi straightened. “We do the meet-and-greet. With security doubled. No wandering. No improvising.”
Mariella nodded. “We’ll watch each other.”
Ranger’s jaw set. “And I’ll watch the room.”
