Cole: Sienna is not a problem. She suspects nothing. I've maintained appearances.
I stared at my name on the screen.
Maintained appearances.
That's all I'd been. An appearance. A cover story. The oblivious wife who asked no questions while her husband planned kidnappings and murders.
I kept reading. Message after message. Plans. Contingencies. Backup strategies.
Cole: If primary extraction fails, we move to hospital breach. I have blueprints and guard schedules. Acceptable casualties: up to 6 guards. Priority is target acquisition.
Acceptable casualties.
He'd planned for deaths. Budgeted for them like they were expenses on a spreadsheet.
My stomach churned.
I opened another folder. "Personal."
A journal. Digital entries dating back six months.
I clicked the first entry.
January 15th
Saw Nessa again today. She was in the garden, walking with that new maid they assigned her. She looked so small. So trapped. The Blackwood bastards keep her like a prisoner in her own home.
