Page 241 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

“For Oliver.”

“Yes.” He steps closer. “And now Addy is pregnant with triplets, your company is under attack, Bryce is acting like a rejected villain in a bad courtroom drama, and this…” He gestures to the screen. “This is exactly the kind of thing that could pull you under again.”

My first response is irritation.

My second is recognition.

Both are inconvenient.

Maybe I shouldn’t have told Jeffrey so much about what’s going on…

“I’m not unstable.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

I roll my eyes. “You implied it.”

“I implied you’re human, which I realize is offensive to your brand.”

“Jeffrey.”

“No. Listen to me for once without turning it into an operational review.”

I go still.

He rarely uses that tone.

When he does, it's usually deserved.

He points toward the screen. “If we chase this wrong, we destroy chain of custody, tip off whoever did it, hand the board a reason to sideline you, and put Addy through hell while she’s already dealing with more than enough.”

“I know that.”

“And if it's Bryce?”

“Then we prove it.”

“Not punish first, prove later.”

My voice cools. “You think I need that clarified?”

“I think you’re looking at the thing that might clear Megan’s name. So yes. I do.”

The room goes silent except for the servers.

Megan’s name does what it always does.

Changes the air.

The words leave me before caution can stop them.

“It wasn’t an accident.”

Jeffrey doesn’t answer immediately.

I hear him breathe in. “Ethan.”

“No.” I step toward the console and isolate the old failure branch. “This wasn’t weather. It wasn’t fatigue or hesitation. The aircraft entered a feedback loop because the dampening layer was bypassed under sensor conflict.”