“You’ve got an hour. Then I’ll text you everything you need—the account details, the wallet address, and proof instructions.” Another pause. “And Bing? No calling the cops, especially your sister’s detective boyfriend.”
“He’s not my—” Andy started, then stopped. It didn’t matter.
Diego exhaled, annoyed. “I don’t care what he is. I care that you don’t bring him into this.”
Andy squeezed his eyes shut. He’d been backed into a corner with only one way out. One way forward.
“Okay,” he whispered. The word tasted like ash. “I’ll do it.”
“Good,” Diego said, satisfaction creeping back into his voice. “See? That wasn’t so hard.”
The call ended.
Andy was frozen in fear. The phone stayed pressed to his ear long after the line went dead, his heart hammering, and his hands shaking so badly he had to sit down on one of the chairs before his knees gave out.
He hated himself for agreeing.
He hated Diego.
But most of all, he hated that the image in his head—the one that finally broke him—was Tess smiling at him like he was something worth being proud of.
And he was about to destroy that.
He stood abruptly, pacing a tight line between the coffee table and the fireplace.
“Okay,” he muttered. “Okay. Think.”
His thoughts spiraled through digital trails and security systems—things meant to remember. Crypto didn’t get fixed or reversed. Once it moved, it stayed moved. This wasn’t hiding a mistake. This was setting something in motion that he couldn’t stop.
He couldn’tnotdo it, either. Not if they had Tess.
He raked his hand through his hair, breathing fast.
Don’t call the police...
No—she hadn’t said it like that. She’d stressed the worddon’t, hard enough to bend it, like she was trying to tell him the opposite without being able to say it out loud. It wasn’t because she meant it—it was because they were listening to everything she said.
Tess didn’t fear the police. She worked with them and trusted them. Most of all, she trustedBrian.
Andy did too.
The thought hit him like a heavy weight.
Yes, the guy was a detective—one Diego had specifically said not to call. But he was also... more than that. He wasn’t the one who’d handcuffed Andy and dragged him into the SBI office anymore. Now, he was pretty much Tess’s boyfriend. The guy who came over for dinner and invited Andy to watch movies with them. Who challenged him to video games because he actually enjoyed it. The one who didn’t treat him like an annoying, geeky teenager. The one who’d scored Rad-Robot Wars tickets and told Andy to bring a friend.
He checked the time on his phone.6:07 p.m.
Tess had mentioned earlier that Brian was bringing over dinner tonight. A pizza or something. What time did she say?
He quickly tapped on the text app and looked at her last message.
Tess
Brian’s bringing over pizza @6:30 if you want to eat with us
Andy’s thumb hovered uselessly over the screen. He didn’t even have Brian’s number. The only way to reach him would be calling the SBI district office—and that was exactly what Diego had warned him not to do.
He swallowed hard, his pulse skidding. For a split second, he imagined dialing anyway. Dumping everything out in one breath. Begging for help.
