He looked at me, then down at the floor, trying to remain completely silent.

Kane did not hear the door.

He was too focused on me, his finger still hovering over the remote control.

“Ten seconds, Dante,” Kane said.

“The clock is ticking.”

I kept my hand perfectly still in my pocket, my thumb resting on the key that would change everything.

The phone in my palm felt incredibly warm against the freezing air of the cabin.

Isabella caught my eye, and for a split second, she looked down at Eli, then back to me.

She knew what I was about to do.

She braced herself, her shoulders tensing under her heavy coat.

“Well?” Kane asked, his voice sharp.

“What is your answer?”

I stared at him, letting the silence stretch between us until the only sound was the howling of the Chicago wind outside the glass.

The green light on my phone screen blinked once, a bright emerald spark in the shadows of my pocket.

“No,” I said.

The single word hung in the cold cabin air.

Kane’s smile did not vanish immediately, but it stiffened at the corners.