The room didn't settle after Rita left. It felt like the walls kept holding her voice, her attitude, her sharp, taunting smiles. Ella rubbed her palm against the side of her jeans, trying to shake off the leftover tension. Her chest felt tight, not from fear, but from the constant pressure of thinking ten steps ahead.
Ben paced slowly near the window, shoulders stiff, eyes distant but focused. He didn't mutter anything, but the quiet frustration radiating off him was enough to make the air feel warmer. Lucas stood by the table, staring down at the notes and scattered thoughts they had tried to organize. His jaw tightened every now and then, like he was biting back curses.
Ella finally exhaled and spoke, her voice low, almost groaning from how drained she felt, "She's planning something. I could feel it. She wasn't just bluffing."
Ben dragged a hand through his hair, letting out a rough sigh. "She never bluffs. Not when she's cornered. Cornered people get creative, desperate, dangerous."
Lucas snorted quietly, crossing his arms. "She's already dangerous. Now she's focused. That makes her worse."
Ella nodded, chewing her lower lip. "We need to move too. We can't wait for her to strike first. She's too unpredictable."
Ben stopped pacing and turned toward her. His eyes softened a little, even though everything else about him still looked ready to fight. "I know. But we can't rush. One wrong move and she'll twist it right back at us."
Lucas pulled out a chair and sat, rubbing his forehead like the weight of the plan was sitting right between his eyes. "We need something she won't expect," he muttered. "Something quiet. Something she doesn't see coming."
Ella sank into the seat across from him. "Like what?"
Lucas groaned softly. "I don't know yet. But Rita's used to loud drama. Noise. Chaos. She thrives in it. A quiet hit, something subtle will throw her off."
Ben leaned against the edge of the window frame, arms crossed. "So… we gather information. Real information. Stuff she can't argue with. Stuff Jasper won't be able to pretend he didn't know."
Ella's eyebrows pinched. "You think Jasper's fully on her side?"
Ben's jaw tightened. "He might not agree with everything she does, but he covers for her. That's enough to drag him into the mess."
Lucas hummed quietly, considering. "If we take away their trust in each other… that's where the damage starts."
Ella blinked, sitting up straighter. "Divide them?"
Lucas nodded. "It's easier to knock down two people when they're not holding each other up."
Ben looked between them, interest sparking. "They depend on each other. Rita feeds Jasper information. Jasper gives Rita confidence. Break that, and we create room to expose both of them."
Ella rubbed her index finger across the table's edge. "Then we need something that attacks that trust."
Lucas looked up, eyes sharp. "We need evidence. Proof of what Rita's been doing behind Jasper's back. And trust me, she's hiding something. People like her always do."
Silence filled the room for a moment. Heavy, but focused.
Ella shifted and leaned forward. "We can't confront her again. Not yet. But we can follow her. Watch her steps. Catch her slipping."
Ben muttered, "She'll slip. She always does."
Lucas stood again, restless energy making him move around the room. "We follow her quietly. Not in the obvious way. We gather every detail. Every meeting. Every suspicious call. Once we have it… we pull the rug out from under her."
Ella swallowed, her heart beating in a rhythm she couldn't slow. "That means someone has to shadow her."
Lucas pointed at himself first. "I can do that."
Ben shook his head immediately. "No. She knows your face too well. You get close, she'll sniff you out before you blink."
Lucas grumbled under his breath, annoyed but knowing Ben was right. "Then who?"
Ella didn't answer at first. She wasn't sure she wanted to. But she breathed in sharply and muttered, "Me."
Ben turned fast, eyebrows rising. "Ella, no. She expects you the most. You're the last person who should be trailing her."
Ella lifted her chin, stubbornness rising like heat. "She expects me emotionally. She doesn't expect me to move quietly."
Lucas huffed a laugh. "Actually… she might not see Ella coming. Not in this way."
Ben didn't look convinced. His jaw clenched hard enough to make a muscle twitch. "I'm not letting her go alone."
Ella rolled her eyes. "Who said alone? You can be around. Just not in her line of sight."
Lucas nodded. "That works. Ella walks close. Ben shadows from a distance. I handle the communication and watch from other angles."
Ben stared at Ella for a long moment, concerned about softening the edges of his anger. "If anything happens…..anything, you call me. Immediately."
She snorted, shaking her head. "Relax. I'm not planning to fight her with my bare hands. I'm just going to watch."
Ben muttered, "That's what scares me."
Lucas groaned, dragging a hand across his face. "Okay. Enough emotional tension. What we need now is timing. We will follow her tomorrow. She'll be busy pretending today's confrontation didn't shake her."
Ella leaned back in her seat, exhaling hard. "She'll pretend she's fine. But she's not. She's planning."
Ben grunted, bitterness creeping into his tone. "She always is."
The three of them grew quiet, each sinking into their thoughts. The atmosphere wasn't tense anymore, it was just full of silent preparation, like the calm right before a storm makes its first rumble.
Ella rubbed her thumbs together nervously. "If we do this right… this whole game she's built will fall on her head."
Lucas nodded slowly. "And she won't even see the first crack coming."
Ben shifted his stance and finally pushed away from the window. "Good. Then tomorrow… We move quietly. No shouting. No open fights. We work smart."
Ella's chest tightened with a strange mix of fear and excitement. She wasn't ready, but she had to be. And deep down, she knew Rita wouldn't be expecting this version of her, the calm observer instead of the emotional target.
Lucas stretched his back and groaned. "We should rest. Tomorrow won't be easy. And if Rita does even one strange thing… we need sharp eyes."
Ella stood slowly. "I'll sleep. But I'll probably dream about worst-case scenarios."
Ben shrugged gently. "That's normal. It means you're thinking. Thinking means surviving."
Ella offered a faint, tired smile. "Let's hope so."
As they all began walking toward their rooms, the weight of tomorrow hung behind them like a shadow. But it wasn't fear holding them back. It was the knowledge that they were finally moving: quietly, strategically, and together.
Rita had made her first move.
Tomorrow… they would make theirs.