Plans were louder than words.

Kael made calls. Not the kind anyone could trace...quiet ones, coded, old contacts who still owed him. Liana dug through her late father’s files, the ones she swore she’d never touch again. Land deals. Ownership papers. Names connected to Paul Winters in black ink and shady footnotes.

It all fit.

A fake trust fund tied to land under her name but being siphoned to Winters’ shell companies. Legally hers. Silently stolen.

“Got you,” she whispered.

Kael looked up. “What?”

She held up the folder. “We go public.”

He nodded. “You trust me to handle it?”

“I wouldn’t let you sleep on my floor if I didn’t.”

They crafted a story. Not a lie,a truth weaponized.

An anonymous tip sent to the local paper. Copies of the land documents slipped under the mayor’s office door. A quiet call to the IRS. The kind of storm no one saw coming until it hit.

By the time the sun set, Paul Winters’ hands weren’t clean anymore.

Not in the public’s eyes.

Not in his own.

The fire burned.

But the house was still quiet. And tonight, there was no knocking. No threats.

Just space.

Kael stood in the kitchen, his sleeves rolled, leaning against the counter like he belonged there. Like the chaos outside wasn’t real.

Liana stepped in, barefoot, hair a mess, her eyes softer than usual.

He poured her tea without asking.

She raised an eyebrow. “You trying to charm me?”

He smirked. “I don’t have to try.”

She snorted, actually laughed. “You’re so full of yourself.”

He handed her the mug. Their fingers brushed. This time she didn’t pull away.

“You scared?” he asked quietly.

She looked at him, eyes unreadable. “Terrified.”

“But you’re still standing.”

“I don’t know how to fall anymore.”

Kael stepped closer. Not enough to touch her. Just enough that she could if she wanted to.

“You don’t have to do this alone, Liana.”

Her voice was barely a whisper. “I know.”

And for a long, quiet moment, they just stood there. No lies. No walls. Just two people who had been cold for too long, finally letting some warmth in.