Nellie let out a piercing scream and doubled over, clutching her stomach as she crumpled to the ground.
"Dennis, my stomach... it hurts so bad... Save our baby..."
Her face was ashen, sweat coating her forehead. It didn't look like an act.
Dennis panicked instantly. He threw the gun aside and scooped Nellie into his arms.
"Nellie! Hold on! I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"
He turned back to me, and the look in his eyes was pure, bone-deep hatred.
"Margot Delgado, if anything happens to my child, I will never let you go!"
I watched their retreating figures stumble away and felt nothing but contempt.
A confrontation that should have been a razor-edged standoff had ended in this absurd farce.
I turned around and met Christian Finley's gaze. Those eyes held a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile.
He'd watched the entire spectacle.
"Your tactics leave something to be desired."
Christian walked over to me, his long fingers brushing a strand of hair from my temple.
"You really thought a flash drive full of bluffs would be enough to keep these people in line?"
I said nothing. I quietly pocketed the drive.
Of course I knew it wasn't enough.
This was only the first move. I wanted Dennis to crumble slowly, eaten alive by paranoia and dread.
"If Mr. Finley finds this so boring, there's no need to tag along."
My voice was ice. I turned to leave this place that made my skin crawl.
But Christian seized my wrist and yanked me into his chest.
He dipped his head close to my ear. Warm breath spilled across the hollow of my neck.
"Margot Delgado. Haven't you always wondered how the police got their hands on your classified money-laundering ledger five years ago? How they were so precise?"
Every muscle in my body locked. A chill shot from the soles of my feet straight to the crown of my skull.
That ledger. Only two people in the world knew the password: me and Dennis.
"What are you saying?"
I stared at him, unblinking. My voice shook before I could stop it.
