The ride back from Ruben’s estate was the longest thirty minutes of Celeste’s life.

The plan Ruben had laid out in that quiet, immaculate room wasn't just desperate, it was reckless. He was tired of playing the long game, tired of waiting for Selina’s mind to slowly piece together the life he’d stolen from her.

He wanted her backed into a corner, discredited, and eliminated before she could ever step foot near the Aurelius board or recall the night her parents died.

And Celeste was the one who had to set the trap.

She pulled her sedan into the underground parking garage of her apartment building, her hands gripping the...