“They will fight you,” Arthur said.

“Let them fight a man with nothing left to lose,” I said.

“I will have the draft ready by morning,” Arthur said quietly.

“Send it to my personal email,” I said. “Do not copy anyone else.”

“Understood,” he said.

I hung up the phone.

“You are stripping them of their weapons,” Marcus said.

“It is the only way to make them listen,” I said.

We turned off the main road onto a narrow gravel driveway.

The headlights cut through the thick fog rising from the cove.

At the end of the driveway stood the coastal house.

It was a gray shingle cottage, surrounded by dead beach grass.

Warm yellow light spilled from the ground-floor windows.

A black SUV was parked in the driveway.

Next to it was a silver sedan I recognized as Maren’s.

I parked the car and turned off the engine.

The silence inside the cabin was sudden and heavy.

“Do you want me to come in?” Marcus asked.

“No,” I said. “Keep the engine running.”

“Be careful, Adrian,” he said.

I opened the car door.