(Joseph POV)
The call had already ended, yet Brent's voice did not leave with it.
It lingered in the quiet space of the room, settling into the stillness with a weight that refused to disperse, as if the words themselves had found somewhere inside me to stay.
She's the objective.
I stood where I was, the phone still resting loosely in my hand, my gaze unfocused as it remained fixed on nothing in particular, and for a moment—just a moment—I allowed myself to do something I rarely did.
I stopped thinking.
Because thinking would lead to calculation.
Calculation would lead to options.
And right now, there were no options.
There was only one truth.
"They didn't want my company," I said quietly, my voice low enough that it barely disturbed the silence surrounding me, yet steady enough that the words carried the clarity I needed them to have. "They wanted her."
The realization did not arrive with shock.
It arrived with precision.
