KATHLEEN
SafeHaven's boardroom was a warzone.
Kathleen stood at the head of the table, her palms pressed flat against the polished mahogany to keep them from shaking. The air smelled of overpriced coffee and panic.
Every screen on the wall flashed the same headline:
**SAFEHAVEN CEO KATHLEEN PALMER IN BED WITH HARRIS CONSOLIDATED? LEAKED EMAILS RAISE ETHICS CONCERNS.**
The photo beneath it—her and Carl on the pier, his hand on her arm—had been cropped to look intimate.
*Damn you, Hansen.*
Across the table, Lucien Lemaire—her biggest investor—tossed a tablet toward her. "Explain *this*."
The screen played a video: Hansen Leroy, smirking into the camera. *"Kathleen Palmer has been secretly negotiating with Carl Harris for weeks. Ask her why SafeHaven's IPO was delayed *hours* after they met privately."*
Kathleen's stomach twisted. "That's a lie. Hansen attacked our servers *and* leaked those emails to tank us."
Lucien leaned back. "Prove it."
Ava slammed her laptop open. "Gladly."
She pulled up a financial trail—Sandeke Capital's shadow investments in SafeHaven's rivals. "Hansen bet *millions* against our success. He sabotaged us to cash in."
The room buzzed.
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "And Harris? Where does he stand?"
Kathleen hesitated.
The truth? Carl had given back her loans. Had stayed up all night helping her fix the servers. Had trusted her with his niece.
But this room didn't want truth. They wanted blood.
She lifted her chin. "Harris Consolidated is irrelevant. SafeHaven is *mine*."
The doors burst open.
Carl strode in, Alina clutching his hand.
Every head turned.
Kathleen's pulse stuttered. *What the hell are you doing?*
Carl's voice cut through the silence. "She's right. SafeHaven is hers." He dropped a folder on the table. "But *this* belongs to all of you."
Lucien flipped it open—and froze.
Inside: Hansen's signed confession, obtained by Carl's lawyers. And a resignation letter.
*Effective immediately, Hansen Leroy is terminated from Harris Consolidated.*
Carl's gaze locked onto Kathleen's. *Your move.*
---
AVA
Ava watched the boardroom unravel from the doorway.
Lucien was pale. The other investors murmured. Kathleen stood frozen, her knuckles white on the table.
And Carl Harris—the man who'd spent weeks as their enemy—held his niece close, his expression unreadable.
Ava's phone buzzed. **Unknown Number:** *You're next.*
She stiffened.
Then—a crash from the server room down the hall.
Ava sprinted toward the sound, rounding the corner just in time to see a figure in a black hoodie dart out the fire exit.
Her workstation was destroyed.
And on the shattered screen, a single message glowed:
**YOUR TURN TO BURN.**
---
CARL
Carl found Kathleen on the rooftop terrace, her arms wrapped around herself against the wind.
Alina slept in his office upstairs, exhausted from the chaos. The board was pacified—for now. But the war wasn't over.
Kathleen didn't turn. "You shouldn't have come."
Carl stepped beside her. "Yes, I should have."
Below them, Veloria glittered—a kingdom of wolves.
Kathleen's voice was raw. "They still think I'm sleeping with you for leverage."
Carl turned her to face him. "Let them."
Her breath hitched.
Then—
Ava's scream echoed from inside.
*"FIRE!"*