RAYMOND POV

. I leaned back in the worn leather chair, trying to make sense of the labyrinth of accusations and threats hurled my way. My head spun with confusion, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t piece together the fragmented puzzle that was my reality.

“What do you mean?” I asked again, my voice trembling slightly as I tried to wrap my head around the implications of their statements. “Why have you had Lily followed? What for?”

Red looked at me with a mixture of impatience and amusement. He scratched his scruffy beard, a gesture that seemed to underline his disdain for my ignorance.

“You ask a lot of...