Page 106 of Taken Away

“Walter.”

Something unreadable crossed his face.

“Of course he did.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means Walter knows every file in this building. Doesn’t mean every file is a murder motive.”

Aubrey stepped closer, pulse climbing.

“Mabel dies. Blackwood goes into legal chaos. I walk away. You’re left holding together a winery with a homicide investigation, a frozen estate, staff panic, and disrupted production. Miss two quarters, and Mercer gets permanent control of your distribution pipeline.”

Bennett stared at her.

She lifted her chin.

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong.”

The answer came too fast. Too hard.

Aubrey’s eyes narrowed.

“That was automatic.”

“Because I know Vanessa.”

“And I know contracts.”

"You know commercial real estate."

“I know predatory agreements when I see them.”

“You don’t know Vanessa.”

“No,” Aubrey shot back. “But apparently you do. Very well.”

His eyes darkened.

The air in the office changed instantly.

Bennett stepped closer.

“Is that what this is?”

“This is about motive.”

“No.” His voice dropped, low and dangerous. “This is about you seeing her at The Overlook and smelling her perfume in your kitchen.”

He was too close now. Too accurate.

She hated him for it. And hated herself a little for how much her body noticed him when they fought. The way his voice roughened when he was angry. The way heat rolled off him, tightening the space between them.

“I am looking at numbers,” she said.

“You’re looking at Vanessa.”