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“They wanted whoever’s hunting me to show themselves,” I say. “And they did.”
“Who are they?” he asks.
I meet his gaze.
And this time—
I don’t look away.
“They’re not just a network,” I say quietly. “They’re a system. Embedded. Funded. Protected.”
His expression goes still.
Understanding.
Danger.
Recognition.
“They don’t want me,” I add.
“They want what I took from them.”
A beat.
Then—
“What did you take?” he asks.
I hesitate.
Because saying it out loud makes it real.
Makes it worse.
“A list,” I say.
His jaw tightens.
“What kind of list?”
I hold his gaze.
“The kind people kill for.”
Silence stretches between us.
Heavy.
Loaded.
And now—
He’s in it.
Fully.
No way out.
