Page 116 of Their Arrangement

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Wolfe sat forward, slowly. Hands clasped. Eyes locked on me.

Loyal didn’t move.

But I saw it.

The disappointment.

And Barron?

He didn’t blink.

Didn’t breathe.

But the air around him thickened.

I scrambled.

Fumbled for the mouse. The keyboard. Anything.

“Shit—I didn’t—this wasn’t—I didn’t mean to?—”

“But youdid,” Wolfe said quietly.

His voice wasn’t cruel.

It was worse.

It was true.

The screen snapped black as I finally disconnected.

But the silence didn’t lift.

Barron stood.

Calm. Controlled.

“Out.”

One word.

The others left.

One by one.

Until it was just me.

And him.

And the knowledge that I hadn’t just been seen.

I’d been known.

The door clicked shut behind Wolfe.

And suddenly, there was nothing but silence.

Me.

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