She stepped back, smoothing down her wrinkled coat.

The sirens were louder now, echoing off the brick buildings down the street.

“But we don’t have to go down that road,” Melanie said, her eyes shifting to Wyatt.

She took a slow, deep breath, her gaze hardening.

“In fact, I have a much better solution for everyone involved.”

Wyatt did not move, but I felt the tension in his muscles.

“Speak,” Wyatt said.

Melanie reached into her designer purse and pulled out a thick, white envelope.

“I knew you two would try something like this,” she said.

“So I prepared a little insurance policy.”

She tossed the envelope onto the desk, right next to Marcus’s keyboard.

“Open it,” she commanded.

Marcus looked at Wyatt, who nodded once.

Marcus slid the papers out of the envelope.

They were printed copies of what looked like text messages, emails, and several legal affidavits.

I leaned over the desk to read the top page.

The header read: *Affidavit of Formal Complaint.*

“What is this?” I asked, my chest tightening.

“Those are sworn statements,” Melanie said, a smug smile returning to her lips.