I storm out the back door, past the pool, and into the rose garden. I pace the stone path, muttering creative insults under my breath.
Asset.That's all I am. When I'm useful, when I'm charming his mother or saving his gala, I'm allowed in the room. When the real work starts? When the money is on the line? I'm just the hired help.
I kick a loose pebble into a prize-winning bush.
But my mind keeps snagging on what he said.A saboteur.
The irony burns. Does he not realize that neutralizing saboteurs is literally my specialty? That is exactly how we met. I didn't tackle him into a marble cherub for sport; I did it because I thought he was a threat; hewasthe threat. He ended up as garden art specifically because I don't hesitate when I see someone trying to tank the main event.
I stop pacing. I think about the gala. I think about the man with the white mustache who looked at Brooks with that oily, false concern.
Royce Aston.
"He looks at you like he's calculating your scrap metal value," I'd told Brooks that night.
I pull my phone out of my pocket. I pull up the group chat with Maddy and Savvy.
Ivy
Emergency. Need a favor.
Savvy
Did the cottage burn down? Did you kill him? Please tell me you didn't kill him, we don't have bail money.
Maddy
I'm available. Please tell me you need me to leave the house. If I have to watch Henry's dad fawn over my mother one more minute, I'm going to commit a felony of my own.
Ivy
No felonies yet. But Brooks is spiraling. He says we have a saboteur. Someone is actively leaking the valuation models to the competition.
Savvy
Okay... and why is this our problem? Let the shark drown. The guy is holding a lawsuit over our heads, Ivy. We owe him nothing.
Ivy
Because if the deal falls through, he has no reason to play nice. If he loses the vote, he burns us. He sues Ever After into the ground. I need this deal to close, Sav.
Maddy
She's right. If he sinks, we sink. Plus, frankly, I miss the drama. Domestic bliss is exhausting.
Ivy
I need you guys to call Mason. Ask him to look into Royce Aston. He's on the board. He called Brooks's dad from the hospital, and he was acting shady at the gala. I think he's the leak.
Savvy
Mason? You want us to call the guy who knows where the bodies are buried? This is serious.
Ivy
Dead serious. Tell him to look at the money. Aston is too eager for Brooks to fail.
Maddy
