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Luca smothered a laugh from his spot against the far wall, and Soren shot him a look. His second-in-command suddenly found the ceiling fascinating.

Maria turned back to Lily, her expression softening. "Sweetheart, you haven't eaten since breakfast."

Lily blinked. "How did you know that?"

Maria smiled. "Because he asked." She nodded toward Soren. "He notices everything."

Lily looked at him, confusion replacing some of the fear. "You remembered that?"

"I asked you less than fifteen minutes ago,” he grumbled.

"Still, most people wouldn't remember stuff like that,” she said.

Soren said nothing. He wasn't interested in discussing what most people did. He was interested in determining whether she was a liability.

She finally picked up the spoon and took one bite, then another. By the fourth spoonful, she seemed to realize how hungry she actually was. She finished the bowl in less than five minutes. Maria immediately refilled it, and Soren noticed the faint blush coloring Lily's cheeks.

"You don't have to—" Lily insisted.

"Oh, hush," Maria interrupted gently. "You're skin and bones."

"I am not,” Lily defended.

Maria arched an eyebrow. "When's the last time someone cooked you a proper meal?"

Lily lowered her eyes. "I—” The silence answered for her.

Soren watched her carefully. He was pretty sure that she had no family or support system. He knew that she had a demanding employer and an abusive ex. She'd learned to survive on her own. People like that rarely admitted they needed anyone.

Maria reached over and squeezed Lily's hand. "You're safe here." The young woman's eyes shimmered for the briefest moment before she quickly looked away. Soren caught it anyway. She blinked rapidly to rid herself of the tears, because she wouldn’t allow herself that luxury.

“I’m going to do some work in my office, if anyone needs me,” Soren grumbled. He was going to look a little bit deeper into who Lily really was before deciding what to do with her, but there was no way that he’d tell her that.

No one objected to his leaving, so he got up and nodded to Luca to follow him down the hallway to his office. Soren stood by his desk while Luca closed the door behind him. "Report,” he almost shouted.

Luca tossed a folder onto the desk. "Our cleanup crew beat the police to Collins' office."

Soren opened the file. "What about the servers?"

"They’ve been wiped,” Luca said.

"The ledgers?" he asked.

"Have been recovered.” He held up his hand, stopping what Soren was about to say next. “And before you ask me about witnesses, they’re all dead. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

Soren looked up. "They’re all dead, except for one,” he corrected.

Luca nodded. "Right, the one sitting upstairs is still very much alive."

Soren leaned back in his chair. He already knew what Luca’s next question would be; he just didn't like the answer he was going to give.

"What are you going to do about her?” Luca asked, folding his arms. "You've protected witnesses before,” Luca said. “This should be no different.”

"I’ve never protected them in my own home,” Soren reminded.

"True,” Luca said, “so why start now?”

“Do you disagree with me bringing her here?” Soren asked.