"Stay with me," I murmur. Just for her.
She nods. Her breathing evens by a fraction.
Malachi looks at me, at Sloane. "We handle this."
Phoenix steps forward. "We're cleaning house. The old structure is gone. Anyone who fought that has been removed from access. Influence cut. Resources frozen."
East snorts, hand on Darla. "Sounds expensive."
Phoenix's mouth twitches. "It was."
His eyes move to Candace. Measured. Weighted.
"Alice?" Her voice holds, but her knuckles are white around the edge of the bar.
He doesn't look away. "Handled."
"By you."
"Yes."
Candace's jaw works. Malachi's hand finds her waist to anchor her. She stays exactly where she is.
"Her network," Phoenix adds, barely above a murmur. "Dismantled. Every contact, every pipeline, every account she funneled through. None of it exists anymore."
"When?"
"Before I came here."
She dips her chin, sharp, final. Her fingers curl into Malachi's forearm, white-knuckled, release. "Good."
Phoenix inclines his head. "I'm building it out," he says. "Bigger than it was."
Heads turn.
"The power belongs to the women now. If a woman decides to sell her time, her company, her body, she chooses it. She setsterms. She can stop. She can walk. Any man who treats that access as something he's owed gets removed."
"Removed," Nash echoes, voice low.
Phoenix tips his chin in confirmation.
Frankie sets her mug down. "Predators don't get second chances."
Arden clears his throat. "People compensate. They adjust. Leaks don't always come from greed. Sometimes from fear."
Phoenix nods. "We build smarter. Cut anyone who confuses a woman's choice with his right."
Nash taps the pool table, single, decisive. "People get sloppy when they think nobody's watching."
East rocks back. "I'm never sloppy."
Darla's brows lift. "That is a lie."
"Babe."
"You once lost your keys in the fridge."
Kyle barks a laugh. East points at him. "You're dead."
