I pulled it away a second later, hoping no one in the room had noticed the gesture.

Leo walked over to the counter and picked up the folded piece of paper the scarred man had thrown down.

He unfolded it, his eyes scanning the lines of black ink.

“Marcus Chen is a desperate man,” Leo said, looking up at me.

“I didn’t sign that,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “I swear I didn’t.”

“We know,” Leo said, slipping the paper into his inner pocket. “But the Valenti syndicate doesn’t care about forged signatures. To them, this makes you his guarantor for four million dollars.”

Four million.

My chest tightened, and the room seemed to tilt slightly.

Marcus had sold my name to a rival syndicate to cover his own ruin, knowing they would come for me when he couldn’t pay.

“Where is Marcus?” I asked, trying to find my breath.

“Hiding,” Leo said. “But he left you behind as his shield.”

Leo gestured toward the back exit.

“Mr. Russo is waiting,” Leo said. “We need to leave now.”