Reed stood on the doorstep like a man who had run miles barefoot, breath rough, eyes wild, hair tangled from dragging his hands through it too many times. The early morning sunlight caught the tension in his jaw, the twitch beneath his eye, the faint tremor in his fingers. Ella had seen him arrogant, seen him smug, seen him manipulative… but this? This stripped-down fear?
This was new.
Ben shifted beside her, positioning himself half in front of Ella, half facing Reed like he was assessing whether Reed was here as a threat or a warning. His posture screamed protective, but his face stayed controlled, corporate composure layered over raw instinct.
Ella crossed her arms, grounding herself. "Reed," she said carefully, voice low, "you showing up like this… it better be serious."
"It is," Reed said, swallowing hard. "It's Rita. She's, she's spiraling."
Ben scoffed under his breath. "She's been spiraling."
Reed snapped, "No. You don't get it. This isn't about her usual dramatics or manipulations. She's gone past that."
Ella's pulse ticked faster. "What does that mean?"
Reed dragged in a breath, shaking his head like he still couldn't believe what he'd seen. "She's planning something destructive. Something dangerous. Something that could ruin all of us."
Ella stiffened. "Define 'dangerous.'"
Reed's throat bobbed. "She's not thinking straight anymore. She's breaking things, screaming at shadows, saying she 'won't be erased.' I tried talking to her, but she wouldn't listen. She thinks you, both of you are conspiring to destroy her."
Ben frowned sharply. "We confronted her with the truth. That was all."
Reed let out a bitter laugh. "Well, she didn't take it as calmly as you hoped."
Ella looked between the two men, dread seeping into her skin like cold water. "What exactly did she do, Reed?"
He hesitated.
Ben's jaw tightened. "Answer the question."
Reed finally spoke, voice low. "She's gathering things. Files. Photos. Voice recordings. Screenshots. She's piecing together this huge narrative where she's the victim and you're the villains. And she's planning to go public."
Ella's stomach dropped. "Public?"
Reed nodded. "She's trying to build a story compelling enough to take you both down. Crying, shaking, almost delusional, but her intentions are real."
Ben cursed quietly. "Great. Just what we needed."
Ella gripped the doorknob behind her, grounding herself. "Okay… okay," she muttered, thinking fast. "Reed, why are you telling us this? You don't exactly have a history of… altruism."
Reed closed his eyes like her words stung. "Because I'm not stupid. If Rita goes down in flames, anyone associated with her burns too. I'm not letting her drag me into her grave."
Ben snorted. "So this is self-preservation."
Reed met his eyes evenly. "You bet it is. But I'm also telling you because I know her. And she's not bluffing. She's past the line."
Ella rubbed her forehead. "What triggered her?"
Reed swallowed. "The confrontation you two had… it cracked something in her. She's not angry, she's unraveling."
Ella's voice trembled for the first time. "Does she know about Lucas?"
Reed blinked. "Who?"
Ben interjected, voice firm. "Never mind. Continue."
But Ella knew. If Rita sensed Lucas was part of the picture… she'd explode.
Reed shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Look."
He handed it over.
Ella hesitated, then took it.
The screen was full of notes. Screenshots. Voice memos. Drafted accusations. Emotional outbursts typed at 3 a.m. Photographs taken secretly. Messages from unknown numbers discussing damage control. And worst of all, an audio snippet under the file name Final Proof.
She pressed play.
Rita's voice came through, unhinged, trembling, broken and dangerous all at once:
"They think they can strip everything from me. They think I'll bow out quietly. They want me erased. But I'll show them. I'll burn everything before I let them win."
Ella's heart stopped for one long second.
Ben took the phone from her hand, jaw tightening dangerously. "This is enough to ruin reputations."
"Exactly," Reed muttered. "If she releases this without context, without proof of her lies… people will believe her."
Ella leaned against the wall, breath shallow. "She's building a perfect victim story."
"And you know how social media works," Reed said. "It doesn't care about truth. It cares about the loudest narrative."
A tense silence pressed over them.
Ben spoke first. "Where is she now?"
Reed hesitated again. That bothered Ella instantly.
"Reed," she snapped, "where is Rita?"
He sighed heavily. "At my apartment."
Ella froze. "…Why?"
Reed's expression darkened. "Because she showed up last night. In tears. Terrified. Rambling. She begged me to let her stay. Said Ella and Ben were 'plotting her downfall.' I tried calming her, but she wasn't listening. Then she said she had 'one last move.' And honestly… she scared me."
"Did she say what the move was?" Ben pressed.
"No. But she kept mentioning a deadline. Like she had something time-sensitive. Something big."
Ella's pulse quickened. "She's not stable enough for that."
"Oh, trust me," Reed said bitterly, "I noticed."
Ben stepped closer to him, lowering his voice. "So why come here? Why warn us at all instead of stopping her?"
Reed's composure finally cracked. He exhaled shakily, looking Ella dead in the eyes.
"Because she's obsessed with you," he said quietly. "And obsessed people don't just fall apart, they drag everyone down with them. I'm telling you because I don't want to be in the blast radius when she finally snaps."
Ella looked away, whispering, "This is my fault."
Ben turned to her instantly. "No. Don't do that."
Reed shook his head. "It's Rita's fault. She's losing her grip on reality."
Ella's chest ached. "So what do we do now?"
Ben's eyes flicked with something sharp. Focused. Dangerous.
"We go to Lucas."
Reed blinked. "Who the hell is Lucas?"
Ben ignored him. "He'll know what to do. This has gone too far. We need strategy, evidence, control. We're not playing defense anymore."
Ella nodded slowly. "Yes… Lucas will handle this. He always does."
"But we have to get ahead of her," Ben added. "Before she posts anything. Before she reaches someone who'll believe her."
Reed swallowed. "If she realizes I came here—"
"She won't," Ella said. "We'll handle it."
He gave a weak nod.
Ella stared at him for a long moment, voice soft but firm. "Reed, if you're doing this just to save yourself, fine. But don't think for one second I trust you."
He lowered his eyes. "…I know."
Ben closed the door behind them, locking it.
Ella leaned her back against the wood, breath tight, heart pounding, mind racing.
Ben stepped close, his hand sliding down her arm, grounding her. "Ella. We're going to solve this."
She nodded, though her vision blurred at the edges.
Because there was one thing she hadn't told Ben yet.
One thing gnawing at the back of her mind.
One thing she realized as soon as Reed mentioned "a deadline."
Ella whispered it under her breath, barely audible:
"She's not planning to ruin us."
Ben frowned. "What?"
Ella stared ahead, suddenly cold.
"She's planning to ruin herself," Ella said quietly. "And take us with her."
Ben's eyes widened.
And the air around them cracked.