"William—" Aidan starts.
"No." William doesn't look away from Reilan. "She deserves to hear it. From him."
My brother's throat works.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Then let me explain." William moves for the first time, a slow pivot that puts him facing both Reilan and me. "Yesterday, I shared specific information with a small group. A meeting location. A date. Viktor Tarasov, warehouse outside Drogheda, Friday night."
I don't know any of this. No one told me about a meeting. About Viktor. About any plan.
"Matty found the intelligence," William continues. "I shared it with Aidan and Reilan."
"What kind of trap is this?" I ask.
"The kind that works." William's jaw tightens. "Viktor moved his meeting. Brought it forward two days. He found out we knew his location, so he changed everything. Ran."
The implication settles over me slowly.
"Someone told him."
"Yes."
"And you think—" I can't finish the sentence.
"Aidan was with me when the information came through," William says. "Matty found the intel in the first place." He looks at Reilan. "That leaves you."
"You're accusing me?" Reilan's voice is steady, but I can see the pulse jumping in his throat.
"I left a phone where you could find it." William's voice is flat. "Untraceable. Or so you thought. Every call, every message, tracked."
The room goes very quiet.
Reilan.
My brother. My blood. The person who held my hand at our mother's funeral.
"No." I shake my head. "There has to be another explanation."
"Aoife." Reilan's voice stops me. He sounds tired. Defeated. "Don't."
I stare at him.
"Don't what?"
"Don't defend me." His eyes meet mine, and I see it. The truth I've been refusing to acknowledge for days. "Not anymore."
"Reilan." My voice cracks. "What did you do?"
The silence stretches.
Then my brother starts to talk.
"I made a deal," he says. "With Viktor Tarasov. Before any of this started. Before the engagement, before the contract." He swallows. "I was trying to save you."
"Save me from what?"
"From this." His hand sweeps the room. The house. The men. "From ending up like Mam. From marrying into violence and watching it destroy you the way it destroyed her."
