Page 84 of Billionaire’s Ruin

Dave leaned forward. His voice softened, but the intensity behind it didn’t. “Were you seen at the airport? Any chance you were followed coming in?”

My stomach dropped.

“I—I don’t know. I used someone else’s ticket. Same name… I’ll explain later.”

He exchanged a heavy look with Andy. “Mrs. Li’s people know exactly what to look for. They’re watching arrivals, drivers, anyone with access. We can’t confirm they saw you—but if they did, they’ll tighten their grip on Kai immediately.”

Lincoln’s voice dropped into a quiet growl. “If you were tailed, we need to know now.”

Suddenly, the room felt too big—shrinking me into something small. “I don’t think so,” I said—and hated how fragile it sounded. The truth was, I hadn’t been careful. I hadn’t even thought about being careful. I’d been too desperate to get here. Too desperate to be close.

And now the thought of my face triggering another security sweep made my blood run cold.

Andy’s stiffened. “Then you need to lay low,” she said firmly. “Don’t leave the apartment unless one of us is with you. Change your appearance. Avoid all public places. If Mrs. Li’s people spotted you, your presence could alert them, and tighten security—or worse, put Clare and Lucy in danger.”

The room fell silent, the weight of her words settling over all of us.

A slow nod, a hard swallow—the only response I could manage.

Staying invisible was the only thing I knew how to do.

And maybe the only thing I could do to keep the people I cared about alive.

16

June

Nothing much happened in Kai’s apartment—now dubbed the rescue base. A name far too grand for what it really was: a quiet, dimly lit space filled with restless bodies and unanswered questions. A place where even the furniture felt like it was waiting.

Hours crawled by, thick and heavy, each one pressing down on me until the air itself felt weighted—dense with tension, fear, and the exhaustion no one dared admit. Each sound echoed too loudly: footsteps in the hall, the rustle of jackets, the low murmur of voices that rarely lasted more than a sentence.

I wanted to be out there—doing anything that felt like action.

Even running into danger seemed like a relief, better than pacing in circles inside my own mind.

But Lincoln kept reminding me of the risk. Of what could happen if I was seen. If they saw me.

“Think about Kai,” he’d said, more than once.

So I did.

And, God, it was torture.

The best thing I could do for him… was nothing.

Just sit. Just hold still.

Wait.

Be a sitting duck, while the people who actually had power did the real work.

My hands jumped whenever someone walked through the entrance.

Every time, a flicker of hope sparked inside me—maybe this would be the update, the breakthrough, the miracle. Maybe they’d found a shred of information, a trail, a rumor, anything.

But no.

Each person returned with the same tight expression, the same subtle shake of the head. Empty-handed. Defeated.