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“She already was,” he shoots back.

Rage hits hard.

“You’re done.”

He smiles.

Even now.

“You think this ends with me?”

That stops everything.

“What does that mean?” I demand.

He glances at Tessa.

Then back to me.

“It means,” he says slowly, “you’re still missing the bigger picture.”

“Then show me,”Tessa says.

I stiffen.

“Tessa—”

“I need to know.”

I hate this.

But I see it.

The need.

The truth pulling at her.

So I don’t stop her.

I stay close.

Where I can end this if I have to.

“Talk,” I say.

He leans forward slightly, restrained but calm.

Like he’s been waiting.

“Then you better start asking the right questions,” he says.

A beat.

Cold.

Controlled.

“Because the next answer…”