Every time Ella blinked, her thoughts replayed the note Rita had left on the counter, " Timing is everything. Watch and learn. "
Her stomach tightened again. She tugged the blanket closer. "She's watching us," Ella murmured into the quiet, bitter and afraid all at once.
"She's actually watching."
Footsteps approached. Steady. Heavy. Familiar. Ben.
He stepped into the room, hair damp, tie loose around his neck, sleeves rolled carelessly up his forearms. He looked sharper this morning, controlled, like he forced his emotions into a clean strategic line. But his eyes, dark and restless, told the truth Ella had already felt in her bones. He hadn't slept either.
"You okay?" he asked, voice low but steady.
Ella shook her head. "Not really. But I'm awake."
Ben sank beside her, elbows on his knees, hands clasped. He looked at her for a moment, long and unfiltered, studying the tension in her shoulders, the tiredness on her face. "She's not getting in this house," he said finally. "Not physically, not emotionally, not mentally."
Ella stared at her hands. "Ben… you saw the note. She's already in our heads. That's worse."
He exhaled deeply, leaning back against the cushion. "Yeah. But that's why we stay ahead. And that starts today."
She turned to face him more fully. "What's the plan?"
Ben hesitated. Just for a second. But Ella noticed. She always did.
"Lucas found something," he said, voice dropping into a quiet rumble.
Ella straightened immediately. "What?"
"He didn't want to text it. He's coming here."
Her heartbeat hit a pace she couldn't tame. "Coming… here?"
Ben nodded. "We need clarity. Not rumors, not assumptions. Facts."
Ella stood and paced the room, rubbing her arms.
"Rita won't sit still. She's not just planning—she's anticipating. And Jasper… he's going to feed her every opening we give."
Ben watched her move, tension building in his chest. "That's why we're closing openings. One by one."
A soft knock broke the fragile silence. Ella froze. Ben stood in an instant.
"That's him," he said, moving toward the door.
Ella hovered near the living room entrance, nerves spiking.
Ben opened the door, revealing Lucas; tall, sharp-eyed, jaw set with determination but a quiet caution hiding beneath the surface. He stepped in without words, closing the door softly behind him.
Ella approached slowly. "Lucas… what did you find?"
Lucas didn't sit. He stayed near the doorway, as though unsure how long he'd stay. "I tailed Jasper last night," he began, voice clipped. "He wasn't heading home. He wasn't heading to work. He went straight to Rita's building."
Ella's chest clenched. "Of course he did."
Ben crossed his arms. "Did he meet her?"
Lucas nodded. "And they weren't just talking. They were planning."
Ella swallowed, throat tight. "Planning what, Lucas?"
Lucas glanced between them before answering. "To break you two apart. They're strategizing emotionally. They want to isolate you. They think Ella is the 'weak link.' "
Ella felt heat rush to her face, part hurt, part anger. "Weak? Me?"
Lucas shook his head. "They're wrong. But they think they can corner you emotionally while dragging Ben into a separate trap. They believe if they crack one of you, the other will follow."
Ben's jaw flexed. "They're underestimating her."
Ella stepped closer to Lucas, voice trembling but fierce. "Did you hear anything else? Anything specific?"
Lucas nodded slowly. "Rita wants Ben to talk to her alone."
Ella's stomach fell. "Absolutely not."
Ben didn't blink. "That won't happen."
Lucas raised a hand. "It's already in motion. She's planting something. I don't know what. But she's preparing to make herself look like the victim again. Jasper told her to stage it more… convincingly this time."
Ben let out a low growl of frustration. Ella's eyes stung.
"She's not stopping," Ella whispered. "She's doubling down."
Lucas softened slightly. "That's why I came here before she moves again. You need to be ahead."
Ben stepped forward. "So we turn the tables."
Lucas' brows furrowed. "Meaning?"
"We watch her," Ben said. "We track her. We document everything. If she wants strategy, then we'll out-strategize her."
Lucas nodded slowly. "Then we need eyes everywhere she steps. And someone needs to monitor Jasper too. He's the unpredictable one."
Ella wrapped her arms around herself, overwhelmed but refusing to break. "She said timing is everything… she meant her timing."
Ben reached out, gently placing a hand on her arm. "Then we break her timing. Throw her off rhythm."
Ella looked up at him, trying to calm her breathing. "How?"
"By doing the one thing she doesn't expect," he replied.
Lucas watched them, waiting.
"We stay calm," Ben said. "We don't react. At all. And while she thinks she's manipulating us, we'll be following her, collecting proof, and closing in on her."
Ella nodded slowly. "She thinks she's the only one watching… let her believe that."
Lucas exhaled, tension easing from his shoulders. "Good. Because whatever she's planning… it's big."
Ella shivered. "How big?"
Lucas met her eyes. "Big enough that she thinks it's the move that ends everything for you two."
Ben stepped closer, protective instinct radiating off him. "She's wrong."
Ella leaned into him slightly, finding strength in his steadiness. "We're not breaking."
Lucas cracked the faintest smile. "Then let's make sure she's the one who does."
The three of them stood in the living room, the air thick with tension but cut through with a new kind of resolve; sharper, colder, steadier.
The board was shifting.
The players were adjusting.
The game was accelerating.
And beneath the calm surface, fault lines were forming, lines that would eventually break everything open.
The war wasn't coming.
It had already begun.