Hermione's POV
I slammed my hand on the car dashboard.
"Stop the car!"
James's driver kept going. "Sir?"
"I said stop!" I reached for the door handle.
"Don't!" James grabbed my wrist. "We're going seventy miles an hour!"
"Then slow down!" My heart hammered. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth!"
James nodded at the driver. The car pulled over to the side of the empty highway.
"Get out," I told James. "We need to talk. Alone."
James looked surprised but climbed out. I followed, slamming the door hard enough to make the whole car shake.
The night air was cold. Traffic roared past us, making my hair whip around my face.
"What's this about?" James asked.
"Dr. Mills is dead. Convenient timing, don't you think?" I crossed my arms. "Right after she tries to tell me the truth?"
"That's why we need her evidence—"
"Or maybe you killed her!" The words exploded out of me. "Maybe you're cleaning up loose ends. Maybe I'm next!"
James went very still. "You think I'm a murderer?"
"I don't know what you are!" My voice cracked. "You say you want to help me. But every time I turn around, someone dies or disappears or turns out to be lying!"
"So what do you want from me?"
"Proof!" I stepped closer. "Proof that you're not just using me. Proof that you actually care about justice and not just..." I stopped.
"Not just what?"
"Not just revenge for your own family." I met his eyes. "Because that's what this really is, isn't it? You don't care about me. You care about destroying Rebecca because she killed your mother."
James was quiet for a long moment. Cars rushed by, their headlights cutting through the darkness.
"You're right," he said finally.
My stomach dropped. "What?"
"I do want revenge." James's voice went hard. "Rebecca destroyed my family. My mother died because she knew too much. My father drank himself to death trying to forget. So yes, I want Rebecca to pay."
"Then you're no better than her!"
"Maybe not." James moved closer. "But here's the difference—I'm honest about it. I told you from the start this was war. I never promised to be a hero."
"Then what are you?"
"A weapon." His eyes burned in the darkness. "A very expensive, very dangerous weapon that you can point at your enemies. But only if you're strong enough to pull the trigger."
I took a step back. "You're crazy."
"No. I'm realistic." James pulled out his phone and showed me a bank account. Numbers I couldn't even count. "This is what I have. Money. Power. Connections. Everything you need to destroy Rebecca and take back your life."
"And what do you get?"
"Satisfaction." James smiled, but it wasn't nice. "Watching Rebecca lose everything, just like she made my mother lose everything. That's all I want."
"Liar." I saw something flicker in his eyes. "There's more. What aren't you telling me?"
James looked away. "When this is over, when Rebecca is destroyed, I get my father's company back."
"What company?"
"The one Rebecca stole through blackmail thirty years ago." James turned back to me. "My father owned a pharmaceutical company. Worth billions. Rebecca threatened to expose his affair with your mother unless he signed it over."
My blood went cold. "My mother had an affair?"
"Before she married your father. She and my dad were young and stupid and in love." James's voice softened. "But Rebecca found out. She used it to steal everything from us. My father never recovered."
"So you're using me." Tears stung my eyes. "You're using me to get your company back."
"Yes." James didn't even try to deny it. "But you're using me too. For revenge. For money. For a chance to hurt the people who hurt you." He stepped closer. "So let's stop pretending this is about justice. Let's be honest. We both want blood."
I stared at him. He was right. I did want blood. Wanted to watch Rebecca and Linda and Jerry suffer.
Did that make me a monster?
"If I do this," I said slowly, "if I let you help me, I have conditions."
"Name them."
"First, no more lies. You tell me everything. Every plan. Every risk."
"Done."
"Second, I make the final decisions. Not you. Me." I lifted my chin. "This is my revenge. My life. My choice."
James studied me. "That could be dangerous. You're not trained for this kind of war."
"Then train me." My voice got stronger. "You said you could make me powerful. Prove it."
"It'll take years. Maybe five or more."
"I don't care."
"You'll have to change everything about yourself. How you talk. How you walk. How you think."
"Good." I wiped my tears away. "I hate who I was anyway."
James smiled slowly. "You're serious about this."
"Dead serious." I held out my hand. "Do we have a deal?"
James looked at my hand. Then at my face. "There's one more thing you should know."
"What?"
"The safety deposit box Dr. Mills left? It's not in this state." James pulled out a key. "It's back home. In your city. In the bank across from the Hale estate."
My heart stopped. "You want me to go back? Now?"
"Tonight. While everyone's at the wedding reception." James dangled the key. "We have maybe three hours before Rebecca realizes Dr. Mills is dead and goes after the evidence herself."
"That's suicide! Rebecca has people everywhere!"
"Which is why we go in fast. Get the box. Get out." James grabbed my shoulders. "But I can't do it without you."
"Why not?"
"Because Dr. Mills didn't leave the box in my name." James pressed the key into my hand. "She left it in yours. Under Maria Hale."
"My mother's name?" My hands shook. "But how did she know to—"
"She and your mother were friends. Close friends." James's voice went gentle. "Dr. Mills has been protecting evidence for thirty years, waiting for you to be old enough to use it."
"And now she's dead because of it."
"Yes." James didn't sugarcoat it. "She died protecting you. Protecting the truth. We can honor that by finishing what she started, or we can hide and let her death mean nothing."
I looked at the key in my palm. So small. So important.
"If we do this," I said, "and something goes wrong—"
"Then we both go down together." James held out his hand. "Partners?"
I thought about Jerry getting married right now. About Linda wearing my mother's necklace. About Rebecca sleeping in my mother's bed.
About Dr. Mills dying alone to protect secrets.
"Partners." I shook his hand.
We got back in the car. The driver looked nervous.
"Take us to the airport," James ordered. "Private terminal. Fast."
"Sir, are you sure that's—"
"Now."
The driver hit the gas.
I stared out the window as we flew down the highway. My city waited ahead. The place that destroyed me.
"What if I'm not strong enough?" I whispered.
"You are." James didn't look at me. "You survived them trying to break you. Now you'll survive breaking them."
"How do you know?"
"Because weak people don't declare war." James finally turned to me. "They just die quietly. But you? You called Linda. You warned them you were coming. That takes guts."
"Or stupidity."
"Same thing sometimes." James smiled. "The best warriors are always a little crazy."
My phone buzzed. A blocked number. I almost didn't answer.
"Hello?"
Heavy breathing. Then a voice I didn't recognize. Male. Older.
"Miss Hale? This is Detective Marcus Chen. I'm investigating your mother's death."
Everything stopped. "What?"
"Dr. Mills contacted me before she died. Told me to find you." Papers rustled in the background. "She said your mother was murdered. She said she has proof. And she said you're in danger."
"I know all that already—"
"There's more." The detective's voice dropped. "Dr. Mills said someone close to you is working with Rebecca. Someone you trust. She wouldn't tell me who over the phone, but she wrote it down."
My mouth went dry. "Where's the paper?"
"In her safety deposit box." The detective paused. "The one you're probably heading to right now. Miss Hale, don't trust anyone until you read what's inside. Not even—"
The call cut off.
I stared at my phone. Then at James.
He was watching me with an unreadable expression.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"Wrong number." The lie came easily. Too easily.
James nodded and looked away.
But I saw it. Just for a second. A flash of something in his eyes.
Relief? Worry? Guilt?
The car sped toward the airport, and I realized something terrifying.
I was going into enemy territory with a man I didn't trust.
To retrieve evidence that might prove he was lying about everything.
And if I was wrong about him, I'd be dead before sunrise.