Unknown Number: "Careful where you dig. Graves aren't the only things buried."

Her chest tightened. She stared at the screen, unmoving.

Kael walked in just then, holding two coffees. He paused when he saw her expression.

“What is it?”

She didn’t answer. Just handed him the phone.

He read the message. His eyes darkened.

“Someone knows.”

“Yeah,” she said, voice low. “And they’re watching.”

Kael didn’t waste a second. He started checking the windows, the locks, moving with that quiet, military focus he always had when something felt wrong.

“We didn’t tell anyone,” he said. “Not about the files. Not about Paul.”

Liana leaned against the wall, fingers curling into fists. “Which means this isn’t just about Paul. Someone else is in it.”

There was a knock at the door.

They both froze.

Three soft taps.

Kael’s hand was already at his back, like reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. Liana nodded once. He opened the door...

It was Sera.

Her old friend. The only one who stayed in town when Liana left years ago.

But something was different.

Her smile was too calm.

“Hey,” Sera said casually. “I thought I’d stop by. Haven’t seen you in ages.”

Liana blinked. “Since you said I wasn’t worth the trouble, you mean?”

Sera’s smile didn’t falter. “People change.”

Kael didn’t say a word, but he stood behind Liana like a wall.

Sera stepped inside without asking. Looked around.

“So cozy here,” she said. “Would be a shame if someone took it away, huh?”

Liana’s heart skipped.

And then it clicked.

“You’re the leak,” she said slowly. “You’re working with Winters.”

Sera didn’t deny it. She just shrugged.

“I’m working for myself. And right now, he pays better than loyalty.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

Liana stepped forward, her voice ice.

“Then let me make one thing clear. You’re in my house. My rules.”

For a second ....just a second...Sera’s mask slipped.

But then she turned, already walking away.

“Oh, don’t worry,” she said over her shoulder. “You’ll hear from me again.”