“Which is why we’re sticking to the script,” Selene cuts in, her voice firm. “We control the narrative. Keep her talking, keep her focused on the two of you. She likes control, right? Let her think she’s got it, and when the time comes, we pull the rug out from under her.”

“And if she doesn’t bite?” I ask, twisting in my seat to look back at Mo. This entire plan rides on us, we need to make sure we know the ins and outs of the plan.

Mo nods, a knowing look in her eyes, her expression grim. “Then Orion’s team steps in early. But let’s not jump to worst-case scenarios just yet.”

I want to believe her. But worst-case scenarios seem to follow us like shadows.

I pull into the cafe parking lot, the gravel crunching beneath the tires as I park by the alley leading to the side entrance. The place looks eerie this early in the morning, the windows dark and the usual buzz of customers conspicuously absent. For years, I’d walked into this building feeling like I belonged like I was carrying on a tradition that mattered. But now, standing in front of it, all I feel is sick. Aubrey always kept the place lively—another piece of the façade she wore so well.

Selene glances at me as I kill the engine. “What’s the plan for this stop?”

“Quick in and out,” I say. “We grab the stuff Aubrey left and what Orion wanted us to pick up, and then we head straight to the cemetery.”

Mo’s already opening her door before I finish talking. “Let’s make it quick. I don’t like sitting out here when all I can think about is what’s next.”

She’s not wrong. My gut’s been twisted in knots since we left the house like we’re all walking straight into a trap we can’t see.

Selene catches my hesitation as we step out of the truck. “You good?”

I force a smile. “Yeah. Let’s just get this over with.”

She doesn’t call me out on the lie, and I appreciate that.

We step inside, and the scent of coffee and sugar lingers in the air, but it feels different now. Wrong. Tainted. Anger coils tight in my chest, burning hot and deep. This was supposed to be my sanctuary.

She played me. She looked me in the eye, called herself my family, and smiled. And all this time, she was the reason my parents never made it home.

I clench my jaw, forcing the rage down, stuffing it into the deepest part of me, because if I let it out now, I won’t be able to stop. Not until I’ve torn everything apart.

Not yet.

But soon.