AVA
Ava Lopez didn't believe in subtlety.
Especially not when it came to men like Carl Harris.
She stormed into the lobby of Harris Consolidated at 8:00 AM sharp, her heels clicking like gunfire against the marble floors. The receptionist—a polished woman with a practiced smile—barely had time to open her mouth before Ava slapped a folder onto the desk.
"Tell Mr. Harris Ava Lopez is here. And if he values his dignity, he'll see me *now*."
The woman blinked. "Do you have an appointment—"
"No. But he'll want to hear what I have to say." Ava leaned in, lowering her voice to a razor's edge. "Unless he'd prefer I take this directly to *Veloria Today*?"
She tapped the folder. Inside: every damning document she'd unearthed on Triton Ventures, Harris' shell companies, and the suspicious timing of SafeHaven's loan acquisition.
Two minutes later, Ava was escorted to the penthouse elevator.
The doors slid open to reveal Carl Harris, standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, a half-empty whiskey glass in hand despite the early hour. He didn't turn.
"Ms. Lopez." His voice was cool. "I assume Kathleen doesn't know you're here."
Ava dropped the folder onto his desk with a *thud*. "She'd skin me alive if she did."
Finally, Carl faced her. Shadows bruised his under-eyes. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, revealing the faint scars along his forearms—old wounds from a past Ava hadn't bothered to research.
She crossed her arms. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"
Carl's jaw tightened. "If you came to insult me—"
"I came to *warn* you." She stepped closer, fire in her veins. "Back off SafeHaven. Back off *Kathleen*."
He didn't flinch. "Or?"
"Or I leak every dirty secret in this file to every major outlet in the city. Starting with how you've been manipulating her from day one."
Silence.
Then—
Carl picked up the folder. Flipped through it. His expression never changed.
"You're thorough," he admitted.
Ava smirked. "I'm just getting started."
Carl set the folder down. "What do you want?"
"The truth. Why her? Why *SafeHaven*?"
For a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. Then he exhaled, running a hand through his hair.
"Because it's brilliant," he said quietly. "Because she's brilliant." His gaze flicked to the window, where Veloria sprawled beneath them. "And because I've spent ten years building an empire on swallowing companies whole. Hers is the first one I didn't want to destroy."
Ava studied him—the rawness in his voice, the way his fingers curled into fists.
*Damn it.*
He meant it.
Which made this infinitely more complicated.
She straightened. "Here's the deal, Harris. You stay away from Kathleen until after SafeHaven's IPO. No more games. No more *proxies*."
Carl's eyes darkened. "And if I don't?"
Ava turned for the door. "Then I ruin you."
She left him standing there, the weight of her threat hanging in the air.
---
CARL
Carl stared at the closed door long after Ava left.
His phone buzzed—Hansen, again. He ignored it.
Instead, he pulled out the one file he hadn't let Ava see.
*Alina's Trust Fund.*
His thumb traced the numbers. Enough to keep his niece safe for life. Enough to walk away from all of this.
But at what cost?
He picked up his phone. Dialed.
Kathleen answered on the second ring, her voice wary. "Carl."
He closed his eyes. "We need to talk."
---
KATHLEEN
Kathleen stood outside Alina's school, her phone pressed to her ear.
Carl's voice was rough. "Not over the phone. In person."
She watched as children spilled out the doors, laughter ringing through the courtyard. "Why?"
"Because I'm done lying to you."
A pause. Then—
"Meet me at the pier. Sunset."
Kathleen hesitated. Ava's warning echoed in her mind. *He's still playing games.*
But the ache in Carl's voice…
"One hour," she said. "And this time? No secrets."
She hung up before he could reply.
Across the courtyard, a little girl with dark curls and Carl's sharp cheekbones waved at a teacher.
Alina.
Kathleen's breath caught.
Then her phone buzzed—Ava's email. The loan documents.
Her stomach twisted.
*What the hell are you doing, Carl?*