The media player expanded to fill the screen, and the loading circle spun for a tense second.

Then, the image resolved.

A woman with dark hair and Ryker’s striking green eyes appeared on the screen.

It was Mara.

She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, sitting in what appeared to be a cheap motel room.

The wallpaper behind her was peeling, and a single flickering lamp illuminated her face.

“Ryker,” Mara said, her voice trembling but clear.

Ryker took a sharp breath beside me, his fist clenching until his knuckles turned white.

“If you are watching this, it means I am either dead or I had to run far enough that you couldn’t find me,” Mara said.

She paused, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

“I didn’t leave because of you, Ryker. I left because of Gideon.”

I glanced at Ryker, whose jaw was set in a hard, rigid line.

“Gideon Voss has been systematic,” Mara continued on the screen.

“For the last seven years, he has been draining the Steel family trusts.”

Tessa gasped softly, her fingers hovering over her mouth.