“Put it on,” he said.

“And get ready.”

“The gala is in forty-eight hours.”

I took the ring, the heavy metal chilling my fingertips.

Just then, the screen of my phone lit up again.

It was an email notification from my old corporate account, which should have been deactivated weeks ago.

The subject line read: *Security Breach: Unauthorized Access by Arya Bennett.*

I tapped the email, my breath catching in my throat.

Attached was a system log showing my login credentials downloading classified defense files.

Files I had never even heard of.

I stared at the screen.

My fingers went numb, the cold metal of the diamond ring slipping slightly against my skin.

“Damiano,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

He looked up from the velvet box, his eyes tracking my movement.

“What is it?” he asked.

I turned the phone toward him.

The blue light from the screen reflected off his polished watch face as he took the device from my hand.

He scrolled through the log, his jaw tightening as he read the lines of code.