Page 139 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

Pike nods once. “I know. I looked into that.”

He swipes to another screen. “Her ex is exactly what you’d expect. Controlling. Possessive. Pattern of coercive language. Emotional manipulation. All of that tracks.”

I think of the texts.

You have nowhere else.

My hand curls into a fist at my side.

“But,” Pike adds, “I can’t tie him directly to the reports.”

Fletcher straightens. “What?”

Pike shrugs. “No direct link. No device match. No confirmed login activity tied to his accounts.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s not him,” Fletcher says.

“No,” Pike agrees. “It doesn’t. But it means I can’t prove it.”

I stare at the screen, at the data. At the gap where certainty should be.

“That doesn’t make sense,” I say.

Pike tilts his head. “Why not?”

“Because if he wanted control, why get her fired?” I say. “She had a job. Stability. Routine. That benefits him. Now she’s here, he doesn’t get to control her at all.”

Pike’s eyes sharpen slightly. “Exactly.”

Fletcher exhales. “So either he panicked…”

“Or someone else did this,” Pike finishes.

Someone else.

I don’t like that.

“Who else would have a reason?” Fletcher asks.

Pike leans back slightly. “That’s what I’m still digging into.”

I run a hand through my hair.

This was supposed to simplify things. Clear her.

Instead, it’s just shifted the problem.

“She’s not the risk,” I say.

“No,” Pike confirms. “She’s the target.”

The distinction sits heavy in my chest because it changes everything. If she was a risk, I’d remove the risk. That’s simple.

This means someone is coming at her. And that means…

I straighten.

“When did the reports start?” I ask.