Three days after the vote, Evelyn noticed something strange.
A man was watching her.
He wasn't obvious about it—no long coats or whispered threats. But he appeared twice outside the Wolfe Global building, then again near the subway station by her apartment. She told herself it was coincidence.
But deep down, she knew better.
"Someone's following me," she told Wolfe that night. They were alone on the 91st floor again, quiet except for the hum of city lights.
He didn't question her. He simply stood. "Describe him."
"Gray jacket. Clean-shaven. Never speaks. But his eyes…" She paused. "He doesn't look at me like a man. He watches like he's memorizing."
Wolfe nodded once, then picked up his phone. "Security sweep. Full detail on Hart. Anyone shadowing her, I want a name. I want a file."
He hung up and looked at her. "It's started."
"What has?"
"The retaliation. Rhys lost the vote, but he won't stop. He's sending feelers. Spies."
"You think he wants to hurt me?"
"No," Wolfe said. "He wants to know what you mean to me."
Evelyn's throat tightened. "And what do I mean?"
Wolfe stepped close, brushing his thumb against her cheek. "Enough to make me reckless."
---
The next day, Wolfe received a sealed package.
No sender. No return address.
Inside was a flash drive.
He plugged it in with Evelyn at his side. A single video loaded. It showed a camera feed—grainy footage of Evelyn in the coffee shop near Wolfe Tower, from the day before. The angle was wrong. Too close. Too intentional.
Then a second clip. This one, in her apartment hallway.
Evelyn sucked in a breath.
There was no audio. Just silent surveillance.
Then a text file opened on the screen.
"You can't protect her forever."
Wolfe stood so abruptly his chair rolled back.
"We're done playing defense," he said. "It's time to smoke him out."
Evelyn grabbed his arm. "How?"
He looked at her.
"We find his weakness—and we break it."
She nodded.
No more shadows. No more watching.
It was time to hunt.