My stomach drops through the floor, leaving a hollow space for ice-cold panic to fill. “That won’t be necessary. I’ve told you everything, and I would just be in your way.”
Aaiden’s fingers trace the edge of the silver letter opener on his desk. “On the contrary. You’re valuable because you already know the layout. You’ve already gained access to the hidden room once.”
“By accident,” I counter.
Sebastian shifts his weight, the floorboard beneath him creaking in protest. “An accident can be replicated. With your knowledge of the trigger mechanism and security rotations, you present our cleanest entry point.”
The logic is sound, which makes it all the more dangerous. Ezra’s eyes burn into the back of my skull, analyzing every micro-expression, every twitch of discomfort.
“I can’t go back there.” I let a tremor slip in, not all of it an act. “If they catch me?—”
“They won’t.” Ezra circles until he stands beside Aaiden’s desk, forcing me to divide my attention between them. “Not if you follow our instructions.”
My hands begin to shake, the tremors moving up my arms despite my efforts to control them. I curl my fingers into fists within my pockets to hide the evidence of my fear. “I can draw you a map. I can tell you where to find him. The security codes, the camera blind spots, everything. But I can’t go back there.”
I swallow hard, playing a card I hadn’t intended to reveal. “You don’t know what they do to Omegas.”
The statement hangs in the air, and Sebastian’s expression softens with understanding.
Ezra goes still, his body a study in controlled tension. He understands what it cost me to give up this piece of my Nico disguise.
But Aaiden’s reaction sends a chill down my spine. There’s no surprise, no confusion, not a single flicker of interest at this supposed revelation about Nico Duran’s secondary gender.
My heart stutters in my chest. I never fooled him at all.
“Your concern is noted.” Aaiden leans forward, resting his forearms on the desk, and the overhead lights cast shadows across his face. “But I’m afraid your participation isn’t optional.”
Fear claws at my throat. “What do you mean?”
Aaiden’s polite mask slips, revealing the cold calculation beneath. He studies me for a moment, then says, “Knox.”
Just my name. The one I used here, but flat in Aaiden’s mouth, with none of the warmth Ezra once breathed into it inthe dark. With Aaiden, Knox is exactly what it is. A fabrication. A tool. A means to an end.
My vision narrows to Aaiden’s face as the rest of the room fades. He recognized me from the start. Brought me into his study knowing who I was. Called Ezra in not to identify me, but to use him as my downfall.
“You don’t have a choice,” Aaiden continues without a hint of gloating. “You signed an NDA. You’re violating it right now.”
My fingers go numb inside my pockets. The non-disclosure agreement. The small-print addendum that came with the check that bought my absence.
“The agreement was about Ezra.” I grasp at any loophole. “But I only came here to speak to you?—”
“It also said you would not return to Rockford Manor,” Aaiden corrects, each word precise as a painter’s blade. “Your standing here constitutes a clear breach.”
The trap springs shut around me with quiet finality. I’d walked right into it, delivering myself to the very people I’d spent a year avoiding.
My breath quickens. “I came here in good faith.”
“For which we are grateful.” Aaiden smiles without warmth. “And once you help us free Jade, you are free to leave.”
A sound of protest comes from Ezra.
Aaiden ignores his youngest cousin. “This is a win-win situation for everyone. I want Jade back. And you, Knox, want to avoid the consequences of your actions.”
I look between them, searching for any hint of sympathy, any crack in their united front. Sebastian remains impassive, a silent sentinel whose loyalty is to family first and always. Ezra’s expression is harder to read, a complex mixture of hunger and hurt beneath the predatory focus.
I’m trapped in more ways than I can count, cornered by my past deceptions and the men who’ve seen through them.
“This is absurd,” I say in a final, desperate attempt to reclaim control. “I came here to help Jade. I could have just left him there.”
