Alina looked up. "They're buying influence. Shaking up board seats. First Vantage pulls out of talks, now we're being flagged by immigration. And don't forget what that intruder said-'She's marked.'"
Jesse leaned forward. "What if they're not just trying to destroy your company? What if they're trying to take it?"
Gran raised an eyebrow from across the kitchen island. "People don't break windows to *negotiate*."
Victor's tone darkened. "This is a hostile acquisition, cloaked in chaos."
Alina took a deep breath. "Then we fight it like a company war."
She grabbed a notepad and scribbled three bullet points:
**1. Stop board infiltration
2. Expose Virella
3. Neutralize Webbington**
Victor pointed at the second item. "Exposing Virella means going after Darien Moss. He's in Lagos, using fake logistics deals to funnel money."
Jesse nodded. "Let me go after him."
Alina's head snapped toward him. "What? No."
"I know people. I know how to find rats like him."
"This isn't the streets, Jesse. This is international finance and corporate blackmail."
He looked her dead in the eyes. "It's both. That's why I'm the one who can do it."
Alina stood. "You nearly got killed tonight. I can't watch that happen again."
"I won't die," Jesse said calmly. "But if we don't do something, this whole life-your company, your name, everything-is going to collapse."
Victor looked between them. "We need intelligence. Quiet. Clean. Not chaos."
Gran snorted. "You're all looking at this like a game of chess, when they're playing poker with a loaded deck."
Alina pressed her palms to her temples. "Okay. Jesse-you find someone who can tail Darien Moss quietly. Not alone. And not without a backup plan."
He gave a small nod. "Deal."
Victor leaned back. "I'll reach out to an old contact in London. She's in corporate forensics. If anyone can trace shell companies back to Moss, it's her."
"And I..." Alina looked at her briefcase, fingers resting on the latch. "I'll leak controlled pieces of information to test who on the board leaks it back. A loyalty check."
She looked at Jesse. "But we have to be on the same page."
He stepped toward her, slowly. "We are."
There was a silence between them, loaded with unspoken worry and what-ifs.
Gran cleared her throat. "Not to interrupt this lovely scene, but you *do* know someone was watching the police station tonight, right?"
Everyone turned to her.
"What?"
She nodded toward the window. "Dark car. Parked across the road the whole time. Didn't follow you here. But they weren't there to pick someone up."
Victor's eyes narrowed. "Probably Moss's man. Or Webbington's."
Jesse's expression turned grim. "Then it's started already."
They didn't know it yet, but the person watching hadn't left. Not really. A tracker was already planted on their vehicle. And a photo-of Jesse, Alina, and Victor walking out of the station together-had just been sent to an unknown recipient.
The message read:
"They're working together. Next step?"
The person squeeze
d his hands into a fist. A thought came to his mind. Impossible.