Page 89 of Wilde and Deadly

“For how long?”

“Best I can tell? Over a month, just before you took control of the company,” she said, finally glancing up at him. “I started digging after the attack on Elliot, looking for anything that didn’t sit right. And I found something.” She turned the laptop toward them.

Rows of code and access logs filled the screen. Daphne tapped the trackpad, and a highlighted string of credentials appeared.

Cade’s credentials.

The tension in the room turned electric.

Sabin cursed in Cajun French.

Liam’s expression remained unreadable, but his shoulders stiffened.

Rowan exhaled hard and lifted her gaze to his. She didn’t need to say anything. He could see the worry and sadness all over her face.

A cold weight settled in his gut. He turned back to Daphne. “That can’t be right.”

“I triple-checked.” She tapped the screen again. “Every one of these breaches ties back to Cade’s login. Every. Single. One.”

Silence stretched, thick and suffocating.

Sabin broke it first, pushing off the counter with a grim smile. “Well,mon frère, hate to say I told you so, but?—”

Davey leveled him with a glare. “Don’t.”

Sabin held up his hands. “Just sayin’. You went to bat for the guy. Put your rep on the line.” He shrugged. “And now it looks like he might’ve used that trust to stab you in the back.”

Daphne sat back in her seat and worried her lip through her teeth. “It’s not just a breach, Davey. Whoever did this had access to everything—mission reports, security protocols, financials. Everything. And if Cade really did hire that hit on you…” She trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air.

Davey clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to believe it. He refused to believe it. But the evidence was staring him in the face.

And then his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Everyone went still.

Slowly, Davey pulled it out, glancing at the screen.

Cade.

His stomach twisted. “It’s him.”

“Shit,” Liam said softly. “Don’t answer it.”

“I have to. If he’s behind this… I have to.” He exhaled sharply before answering. “What do you want, Cade?”

Silence stretched between them for a beat before Cade spoke. “We need to talk.”

“So talk.”

“Not over the phone,” Cade said. “Meet me.”

Davey’s grip on the phone tightened. “My office. Thirty minutes.”

“No.” The response was immediate. “Neutral ground. My choice.”

“Why?”

“If you don’t trust me, don’t come.”

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