“No,” Clara said, her eyes flashing. “If I turn state’s evidence first, I get a deal. You get the maximum sentence.”

She looked at me, a strange, desperate understanding passing between us.

“Thank you, Emily,” Clara said quietly.

She turned and walked out of the study, her heels clicking loudly on the hardwood floor of the hallway.

The front door of the penthouse closed with a heavy thud.

Daniel stood in the center of the room, his glass still in his hand, looking at the empty doorway.

The silence in the penthouse was suffocating.

He slowly turned his gaze back to me.

The arrogance was gone from his face, replaced by a pale, hollow look I had never seen on him before.

He set his glass down on the desk with a shaky hand.

“Emily,” he said, his voice cracking slightly.

“Don’t,” I said.

“Please, just listen to me,” he said, taking a step toward me. “We can fix this.”

He looked at the USB drive on the table as if it were a bomb about to detonate.