Twice Burned, Twice Desired

. When broken, it doesn'

fice, staring at what El

to me had betr

ine bled in through the windows, casting long sh

urity. I hadn't war

answers and I

would be. Propped on the edge of my de

single word written in

RU

alf a second befo

were

shots, time-stamped, labeled. My hea

sabelle Moretti at

cognize anywhere was of Eli Ki

the

Talking close. Way too close for tw

ed to t

lder. She scanned i

st cle

lief. These weren't just casual meetings. These were

My right hand. The man who stay

o be the one pers

e buzze

ot what it

read acros

ime to see the door t

said, v

lding up his hands like a ma

ase. Let m

photos acr

t tal

Yes, I met with Isabelle. Bu

e her do

ortant. I used them

narrowed

ven after the divorce, she had spies in your c

rms. "You cou

she knew you were onto her, she would've buried you in

to beli

I wan

t the first time someone said they were pr

lean the moment you fo

ss seeping into his voice. "I thought I had more time to buil

s still crossed. "

hesi

ad?" I

th Verdane. He signed over access to your designs, your invention, Rita. The encrypted

fr

luepr

oftware, refined it, renamed it, and filed t

mach d

scratch. Every line of code

aid softly. "An

ed up in

sed me to sec

re profiting

I murmured. "You

o this. A lot more. And I don't think Isa

who

ed, then m

seas patent application under her name last year

tely. "Lila? She was

i replied, pulling up a screenshot of the IP regist

my husband, my friend, and my assistan

dn't a

n't ne

d to my chest to keep my heart

a game I didn't eve

s done b

em where it hurts

ifted. "What

retti, Lila... they built an empire off my ba

htly. "Now you're talking

. "This is t

ho doesn'

ho doesn'

who bu

ndow, watching the

patent challenge, every financial thread traced and pulled. If the

-

ang. Unkno

t didn'

ing in me

," I

Then a ma

t they did to you. I have proof. M

ne wen

that, the game