March 13, 2026
Saffi wished shecould say that she’d completely forgotten about her little spat with Andino when she got back to the office later that day, but it was stuck in the back of her mind, warring for attention. She’d taken a cab back, nearly vibrating with unused energy. The entire course of her conversation with Kapoor had felt like mining for gold.
The actress spoke almost with an accent—not in a way that made her sound like she was from a different country, but as if she belonged to a different century altogether. Her voice reminded Saffi of the old Hollywood films Andino forced her and Taylor to watch.
She’d been intending to avoid the men for the foreseeable future, but when Saffi stepped into the break room for a coffee, she was met by them both at the same time. They sat across from each other at the lone rectangular table, turning to face her as soon as the door swung open. All three of them froze for a moment. The overhead light flickered. Then—
“We picked up the police files for you,” Andino said, gesturing to the unopened folders strewn across their table. He’d never been one for the silent treatment, but his voice was unexpected, nonetheless.
The tension broke and Saffi crossed the room to pour herself a coffee. “Thanks,” she said, stilted but not unwelcoming.
“Also,” Taylor said, somewhat hesitantly, “we ran into Dimple’s assistant at the hospital. She seems to think you and her employer are friends.”
“Obviously, I lied.” Saffi shrugged, leaning against the counter. The mention of Kapoor had her itching to pick up the files, but she held back.
“I keep telling Eli we should lie more,” Andino said.
“Yeah, Taylor,” she encouraged. “Lie more.”
Taylor looked between the two of them incredulously. Even Andino couldn’t hide his surprise.
“We agree on some things, me and this clown,” Saffi said.
“Hey!” Andino protested.
“So how was Dimple Kapoor?” Taylor asked before they could delve into yet another argument. It worked to distract Andino, who sat up straight in his chair.
To be fair, Saffi’s conversation with Kapoor had ended in a stalemate. While she was even more certain now that the actress was guilty, Saffi had gained no incriminating evidence and desperately needed to figure out her next move. The good thing was that Kapoor had made a big gamble, inventing a new villain out of thin air. It would take a lot of effort on her part to keep up that charade.
But Kapoor would be on high alert around Saffi from now on, which would make it difficult to catch her slipups. Where it had been beneficial to work alone before, Saffi had a new plan in mind. One that could use Andino and Taylor’s ignorance to her benefit.
“Kapoor didn’t see her attacker,” she said. “I’ve established that the waiter was killed because of the information he had, but other than the phone booth, anything to do with him is a dead end. I want to look into everyone involved inInsomniawho was also at both parties, just to cover my bases.”
Taylor seemed touched, although his brows were furrowed in concern. “Thanks for the update, but I meant Dimple the person, not Dimple the case. She was just targeted by a serial killer. I’d imagine she’s pretty shaken up.”
Saffi rolled her eyes. “Let her fans do the crying and fretting. She’llbe fine.” As far as she had gathered, the public knew that Kapoor was in the hospital but had no idea the severity of the situation or that there was a killer at large.
“They don’t know anything about her,” Andino blurted and then recoiled as though he hadn’t meant to speak. “I just meant this stuff is all surface level. None of them actually care if she’s okay.”
Saffi exchanged a curious glance with Taylor, whose expression told her not to bother asking. It seemed as good a time as any to finally bite the bullet.
“So, no one saw what happened at the party?” she asked. “No cameras?”
Both men paused, exchanging identically bewildered looks. Then, as though afraid she’d change her mind, Taylor’s fingers flew across his keyboard and Andino ripped through the police files. “I’m not sure, but we can find out pretty easily,” Taylor said.
So they’d honored her request to stay off the case. It was equal parts touching and shameful. Were Saffi in their place, the files sitting right in front of her, she wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to resist.
It wasn’t just that Andino and Taylor could be useful now. Saffi had severely underestimated Kapoor. She had no doubts that the woman could kill her and make it look like an accident. Were that to happen, there would be no one there to pick up the pieces. Unless she let them in. Well, to an extent.
“The police report says she was on the balcony by herself,” Andino confirmed. “A few people heard her body hit the ground, though, and came running. They were the ones who called 911.”
“What are your thoughts?” Taylor asked, but it was clear that he actually meant,What made you change your mind?The answer he wanted was that it was their talk that did it. But she would be letting him down yet again.
“This is the first time a victim has survived,” Saffi murmured. “It would be stupid not to use that.”
“What do you mean?” Taylor asked.
“If you attacked someone and they lived, what would you do?”
