I hate that he’s right.
I drag in a slow breath, forcing myself to refocus, but the anger doesn’t go away.
It just shifts.
Fine.
If she’s gone, then this just got bigger.
“Find them,” I say, my voice cold now. “All of them. The girls, whoever took her—I don’t care how you do it.”
Cesario nods.
“We’re already tracking leads.”
“Good,” I reply. “Because if someone thinks they can take what’s mine and walk away—”
I glance back at Izzy for half a second. Justenough.
“They’re going to regret it.”
And so is anyone who gets in my way.
The second that door slammed behind me, it felt like everything inside my chest cracked open.
I didn’t wait. Didn’t breathe. Didn’t think.
“The fuck was that Izzy?” I snapped, my voice already sharp and climbing. “Don’t you dare stand there and act like I didn’t just see your face out there.”
He opened his mouth, but I was already moving, pacing, my heels hitting the floor too hard and too fast.
“No. Don’t. Don’t fucking lie to me right now,” I cut in, pointing straight at him. “You heard her name and suddenly you look like you lost something. Don’t pull that shit in front of my father.”
“I didn’t lose anything,” he shot back, jaw tight. “You’re twisting it.”
“Oh, I’m twisting it?” I let out a short, bitter laugh. “You looked like you were worried about her, Izzy. About Becca. And I swear to God—”
“It’s not about her like that,” he snapped, stepping toward me now. “Use your head for a second.”
That pissed me off more.
“Don’t tell me to use my head,” I fired back. “Explain why the hell you looked like that when we realized she was gone. Because from where I’m standing? It looked real fucking personal.”
He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated now too.
“She’s a liability,” he said. “That’s it. She knows faces, Jenna. She’s seen shit she shouldn’t have seen. If she gets picked up and starts talking, your father doesn’t just lose product—he loses everything. And you?” His voice dropped colder. “You go down with him.”
That hit.
Hard.
Not enough to calm me, but enough to shift something. The anger didn’t go away. Itjust sharpened.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
And I fucking hated that he wasn’t wrong.
“They were already watching,” I muttered, turning away and dragging my hands through my hair. “You don’t hit something like that unless you know exactly where to be. That wasn’t random. That was planned.”
