Aiko looked confused.

“What’s the other half?”

Daniel took a breath.

“The merger was never the final objective.”

Amara felt a chill.

“What was?”

Daniel looked at Kenji.

“Removing you.”

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Daniel continued.

“The board knew that if the merger failed, you would become suspicious. So they created a situation where you would appear responsible for financial misconduct.”

Kenji’s face went pale.

“They planned to blame me?”

“They planned to destroy your reputation first.”

Daniel looked toward Aiko.

“And when she discovered the documents, they decided she was a problem.”

Aiko lowered her eyes.

Amara suddenly understood why she had been so afraid.

Daniel turned toward Amara.

“And now they know about you.”

Her heart stopped.

“Me?”

Daniel nodded.

“You were at the restaurant. You helped Mr. Takamori. Then you contacted Professor Rhodes. People started asking questions.”

Amara laughed once.

It was not a happy sound.

“Wonderful.”

Daniel reached into his jacket and placed a photograph on the table.

It showed Amara leaving her apartment.

Taken from across the street.

The timestamp was from that morning.

Aiko whispered, “They know where you live.”

Kenji immediately turned to his security chief.

“Move Miss Bennett to a secure location.”

Amara stood.

“No.”

Everyone looked at her.

“No?”

“I am not becoming another person you move around because you think you know what’s best.”

Kenji stared at her.

Amara pointed toward Aiko.

“Have you learned nothing?”

For the first time, Daniel almost smiled.

Kenji exhaled slowly.

Then he nodded.

“What do you suggest?”

Amara looked at the flash drive.

Then at Daniel.

Then at Aiko.

“They expect us to panic.”

Daniel frowned.

“And?”

Amara smiled.

“So let’s disappoint them.”

Amara’s apartment was no longer safe.

That much had become obvious.

But instead of allowing Kenji’s security team to hide her in a luxury hotel, she proposed something different.

A trap.

They would let the people behind the conspiracy believe that Amara still possessed information they needed.

Daniel Cross agreed immediately.

Aiko was more cautious.

Kenji was absolutely against it.

“No,” he said.

Amara sat across from him in the conference room.

“You said you wanted my help.”

“I did not agree to place you in danger.”

“You don’t get to decide that.”

“Miss Bennett—”

“Amara.”

Kenji stopped.

She had never corrected him before.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Kenji nodded.

“Amara.”

“Thank you.”

Daniel leaned over the table.

“There is one problem with the plan.”

“What?”

“They already know the flash drive exists.”

Amara looked at him.

“Then we make them believe there’s another copy.”

Aiko frowned.

“There isn’t.”

Amara smiled.

“They don’t know that.”

The plan took shape quickly.

Daniel would send an encrypted message to one of his former contacts inside Takamori Global. The message would suggest that Amara had copied the financial records before meeting with Kenji.

Then Amara would arrange to meet an anonymous buyer.

The location would be a warehouse near the East River.

The FBI had been contacted through an attorney Daniel trusted, but no one wanted to move too quickly. The evidence still needed to be verified.

And whoever was behind the conspiracy might disappear before authorities had enough proof.

Amara knew the risks.

She simply refused to let fear make the decision for her.

That evening, Kenji found her alone in the office.

She stood near the window, looking down at the lights of Manhattan.

“You should not do this,” he said.

Amara did not turn around.

“You’ve mentioned that.”

“I mean it.”

“So do I.”

Kenji stood beside her.

For a while, they watched the city.

Then he spoke.

“When I was younger, I believed intelligence was the ability to predict people.”

Amara smiled faintly.

“How did that work out?”

“Poorly.”

That made her laugh.

Kenji continued.

“I built my company because I believed I understood people better than they understood themselves.”

Amara finally looked at him.

“And now?”

“Now I realize I understood their ambition.”

He looked toward the conference room where Aiko was speaking with Daniel.

“But not always their hearts.”

Amara’s expression softened.

“That’s harder.”

“Yes.”

Kenji looked at her.

“Why did you leave the business world?”

The question surprised her.

She had expected it earlier.

Perhaps he had waited until now because he had finally learned that answers were not something people owed him.

“My father got sick,” she said.

Kenji remained silent.

“I had an internship lined up with an international consulting firm. Tokyo. Six months, maybe longer.”

“You wanted to go.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

Amara looked down at the streets below.

“My father needed help. My brother was still in school. I came home.”

“Did you regret it?”

The question hurt more than she expected.

“Sometimes.”

Kenji nodded.

“Honesty.”

“What?”

“You are honest about regret. Most people pretend they have none.”