“I look forward to it,” I said.

They walked toward the front entrance, their steps hurried.

Seraphina clutched her designer purse to her side like a shield, ignoring the stares of her former friends.

The heavy oak doors of The Marigold Room clicked shut behind them.

The dining room fell into an uneasy, ringing silence.

Denise turned to me, her face pale but determined.

“We need to secure the back office before their lawyers try to lock us out of the network,” she said.

“The physical servers and filing cabinets are still in there.”

My heart beat faster against my ribs.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We walked past the empty tables and into the service hallway.

Elise gave me a small nod as we passed.

“Good luck, Harper,” she whispered.

I led Denise down the narrow, carpeted corridor toward Nico’s private office.

The brass plaque on the door read *Manager*, but everyone knew it was where the Romanos ran their operations.

I reached into my apron pocket and pulled out the master key I had quietly copied three weeks ago.