The sun had barely set when Amara walked into Jaden's private office unannounced.
He looked up from his desk, surprised. "You came."
"I didn't come to fight," she said, closing the door behind her. "But I need the truth."
He gestured to the chair opposite him. "Sit."
She didn't.
Instead, she placed a printed copy of the leaked file on his desk.
"Recognize this?"
Jaden picked it up. His face tightened. "It's ours."
"Sent from your server. From someone using your name."
He stood slowly, eyes locked on hers. "Someone's trying to ruin both of us."
"Or someone's trying to divide us first."
He moved closer, voice low. "I didn't leak this, Amara."
"I want to believe you," she whispered. "But I built my name from nothing. I can't risk it for anyone—even you."
"I know."
They stood in silence, the weight of everything pressing down.
Then Jaden walked to a cabinet and pulled out a thick file.
"I've been investigating on my side," he said. "Internal logs, deleted emails, old partnerships. And guess who keeps showing up?"
He flipped open the folder.
Derrick Michaels.
Multiple meetings with Cole & Partners' former CFO. Anonymous donations to shell firms that bid on Cole properties.
A pattern.
Amara's breath caught. "He played both sides."
"Worse," Jaden said. "He wanted to destroy your credibility so you'd come running—to him."
Her stomach turned. "He knew this deal meant everything to me."
"And he used that. Used you."
They stared at each other again—this time not in accusation, but realization.
They were being manipulated.
Together.
Jaden stepped closer. "I still don't know what this is between us, Amara. But I trust you. And I need you in this with me."
She looked at him, her voice quieter. "Then let's finish what we started."
He held out his hand.
She took it.
And in that moment, something shifted—something strong, and unshakable.
This wasn't just a business alliance anymore.
It was a partnership.
A fight for truth, for each other—and for everything they were building together.