Dante crossed his arms. "This could be a trap. If Victor's getting impatient, he might be onto you."
"Or," Jillian countered, "he's desperate."
Leo cracked his knuckles. "Either way, we're coming with you."
Jillian hesitated. If Victor suspected something, bringing backup could push him over the edge. But going alone was equally reckless.
"We'll stay close," Dante assured her, reading her expression. "If anything goes sideways, we'll be right there."
Jillian nodded, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "Fine. Let's see what Victor wants."
With that, the three of them grabbed their jackets and headed out into the night.
The night air was thick with tension as Jillian, Dante, and Leo approached the diner. It was an old, rundown place, the kind that stayed open just late enough to attract the wrong kind of crowd. A flickering neon sign buzzed above the entrance, casting eerie red light onto the cracked pavement.
Jillian took a steadying breath before pushing the door open. The scent of greasy food and stale coffee hit her immediately. A few late-night patrons sat hunched over their meals, but her eyes went straight to Victor Holloway, who occupied a booth in the farthest corner, his back to the wall. His sharp eyes locked onto her the moment she stepped inside.
She walked toward him, aware of Dante and Leo slipping into a booth near the entrance, close enough to intervene if necessary. Victor didn't seem surprised that she wasn't alone—he simply gestured for her to sit.
"You've been keeping me busy," he said, stirring the coffee in front of him without drinking it. "Fake leads, false alarms. Almost like you don't want me to find out what's really going on."
Jillian forced a smirk. "Maybe you're just not as sharp as you think."
Victor's expression didn't change, but something dangerous flickered in his eyes. "Camilla Robinson." He leaned forward. "Tell me why you sent me that recording. What's your angle?"
Jillian met his gaze without flinching. "Because she's playing you. Just like she played my father. Just like she played everyone."
Victor studied her for a long moment. Then he reached into his jacket and slid a folded piece of paper across the table.
"I looked into her," he said. "Not just her history with your family, but before that. And I found something interesting."
Jillian hesitated before picking up the paper. As she unfolded it, her pulse quickened. It was a report—one detailing Camilla's connections to several powerful figures, some of whom had mysteriously vanished or lost everything after trusting her.
"This isn't just about your family," Victor continued. "Camilla is dangerous, and she's been at this game for a long time."
Jillian tightened her grip on the paper. This was more than she expected. More than just her own revenge—this was something bigger.
Victor leaned back, watching her reaction. "So, tell me, Jillian. Do you still think you're the only one playing the game?"
Jillian's fingers tightened around the paper as she absorbed the weight of Victor's words. The diner's dim light flickered slightly, casting shadows across the table, but Jillian's mind was already racing through the implications. If what Victor had uncovered was true, Camilla Robinson wasn't just a manipulative woman who had schemed her way into the Smith family—she was something much worse.
She exhaled slowly, meeting Victor's calculating gaze. "You wouldn't have called me here just to hand me this," she said. "What do you really want?"
Victor smirked slightly, tapping his fingers against the ceramic mug in front of him. "I want to know how much of a threat you are."
Jillian raised an eyebrow. "A threat? To you?"
Victor's smirk faded. "Don't be naive, Jillian. You sent me a fake lead. You clearly have your own game running. The question is—are you a problem I need to deal with, or an asset I can use?"
Jillian leaned forward, lowering her voice. "We both have a problem, Victor. Camilla is playing all of us. And you, of all people, should know what happens to those who trust her too much."
Victor's jaw tensed, but he didn't deny it. Instead, he glanced over her shoulder briefly before speaking again. "I've been chasing ghosts for weeks. Every lead on Camilla either vanishes or turns up empty. Someone is covering for her, and I want to know who."
Jillian narrowed her eyes. "So you want my help?"
Victor chuckled, shaking his head. "I want to know how much you really know. And whether or not you're just another pawn in this game."
Jillian clenched her fists under the table. She couldn't afford to let Victor think she was weak, but she also needed him to keep digging. If he was already suspicious, she could turn that into an advantage.
"You have your methods, and I have mine," she said carefully. "But if Camilla has someone powerful backing her, then we both need answers. You keep looking for who's protecting her. I'll do the same."
Victor studied her for a long moment before nodding slowly. "Fine. But if I find out you've been lying to me again..." He trailed off, letting the unspoken threat hang in the air.
Jillian met his gaze without blinking. "Then you better make sure you catch me first."
Victor smirked, then pushed the rest of his coffee away and stood. Without another word, he walked past her and out of the diner, disappearing into the night.
Jillian let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Dante and Leo immediately joined her, sliding into Victor's now-empty seat.
"That looked intense," Leo muttered.
Jillian exhaled, gripping the paper tighter. "Victor's getting close to something, but someone is protecting Camilla. We need to figure out who."
Dante cracked his knuckles. "Then we better start moving before they realize we're getting too close."
Jillian nodded, determination burning in her chest. The game was far from over—but now, she had more pieces to play.
Little did Victor Holloway know that he was merely a pawn in Jillian's game. She had set the pieces in motion, carefully orchestrating every step to ensure he walked straight into the trap she had laid. He thought he was in control, that he was using Jillian to get to Camilla, but in reality, Jillian was the one manipulating him, feeding him just enough information to make him desperate for answers.
Frustrated by the lack of progress in his investigation, Victor decided to confront Camilla directly. He sent her a message—short and to the point.
"We need to talk. Urgent. Meet me at the usual place."
Camilla, ever cautious, took her time before responding. She knew Victor well enough to sense when he was agitated. The fact that he was calling for a meeting out of the blue meant he was either onto something—or grasping at straws.
"Fine. Midnight. No one else."
Victor smirked as he read the message. He knew Camilla wouldn't refuse. She couldn't afford to. What he didn't know was that Jillian was already ten steps ahead, watching from the shadows, waiting for the moment when everything would come crashing down.