His voice shifts instantly to steel. "What happened?"

I explain in fragments—the gala, Scott's ambush, the aftermath that hangs in the air like smoke. Jay's curse cuts through the static of my fear.

"I think I know where he went," he says, and relief floods my system. "If he followed Scott, he's probably at Furlo's. Meet me there."

"Thank you," I breathe, inadequate for the weight of my gratitude.

Camilla squeezes my arm. "Want company?"

I shake my head, already moving. "No. The fewer people, the better." I leave unspoken the ways this night could spiral into chaos.

Inside, I spot Ollie laughing with Mia, their joy a stark reminder of how quickly happiness can shatter. I snatch the Jeep keys, mind racing ahead to every possible scenario, each one darker than the last.

Please, I think as I run, let me reach him before the damage becomes irreparable.

"Nora!"

Jake's voice freezes me mid-stride. I turn to find him approaching, his expression a battlefield of frustration and raw need.

"Where are you going?" His tone is sharp but refined.

The keys bite into my palm. "I need to go."

"Where?" Each word lands like an accusation.

"To find Nate." His name hangs between us like smoke signals.

Jake steps closer, taking my hand. His palm is warm but wrong. "You don't need to follow him every time he goes rogue. Stay," he pleads, voice honey-sweet. "Stay here. With me."

I close my eyes, because some truths are easier to deliver in darkness. "Jake, I can't. I can't let him do this alone."

His jaw works beneath perfect skin. "Number seventeen on my list… it was to tell you how I feel." He looks up through those unfairly long lashes, the perfect Sullivan son with his perfectly wrong timing. "About you."

My chest aches with the familiar pain of inevitable heartbreak. "Jake, stop."

His fingers dig into my shoulders with desperate intensity. "Nora, I love you."

The words hit like shrapnel, and I feel the moment everything changes. "Jake, I… I can't do this with you now."

"Because you have feelings for him?"

"Because I love him." The truth explodes between us like fireworks. "And I have for a long time."

"You don't have a future with him. But you could have one with me. That's why I said yes to the position with Dad."

The words land like a slap. "You what?"

"I said yes because I wanted to build something for myself, for you⁠⁠—"

"No." Rage erupts in my chest, volcanic and violent. "Don't you dare use me as a reason. You knew this would happen and you went along with it anyway." Seventeen years of protected silence shatters like fine china. "You're delusional if you think Scott cares about you, Jake. He wants pawns he can manipulate, and you fell right into his hands like the perfect little soldier you've always been."