ETHAN'S POV
I knew it the moment I looked into her eyesAva had changed.
Not broken.
Not bitter.
Just… awoken.
There was no room for second-guessing anymore. Not after what I told her. Not after what we knew her father was capable of.
The fire between us burned low, but the fire inside her? It had just been lit.
And now it was my job to keep it burning.
"Listen closely," I said, dragging the coffee table closer and unfolding the map I'd hidden under the floorboards when we first arrived.
Ava blinked away the last of her tears and sat across from me, her gaze sharpened. Her hands rested on her knees, steady, no longer trembling. That's when I knew she was ready.
I pointed at three red-marked locations.
"These are your father's key strongholds. He doesn't just operate in shadows, he builds his empire through allies, files, and silence. We need to break all three."
She leaned in. "What's the first step?"
