"Did you get a second doctor’s report?" Athena asked Gianna after about thirty minutes—after the tears had finally ebbed, after the room had stopped feeling like it was holding its breath, after Gianna had steadied herself enough to say she was okay.
She had insisted she would rather talk now that everything was out in the open, pointing out calmly that whoever had chosen this mont to release the news was clearly after sothing.
Athena thought her friend impossibly strong in that mont, even as she was already mapping out ways to convince her to go for therapy.
Gianna shook her head at Athena’s question. "Wasn’t necessary. The man was good at his job... he kept alive."
"Maybe you should—"
Gianna shook her head again, sharper this ti, cutting the suggestion off before it could take shape.
"I would rather not. There’s only so much I can take with everything thrown at my face..." she confessed, the words leaving her with a tired exhale as she leaned back into the couch.
Her head tipped up, gaze drifting to the high ceilings. "Maybe later," she added, clearly drawing a line under the topic.
"I’m more concerned about who released the video, the news, and the intent of it all... the person even released Zane’s text calling a gold digger."
Areso wondered how her friend could say that last part without wincing. Without flinching. Even as she did, her mind snagged hard on the sheer stupidity of Zane.
Her friend—a gold digger? Was Gianna poor when he t her? Was she like those classless bimbos that flocked around him?
For all his supposed acun, his reputation for being observant, he was breathtakingly stupid.
Spider, who had co in earlier when Gianna had been crying—who had, in fact, been the unspoken wake-up call that finally got Gianna to stop the tears—cleared his throat.
"It ca from an anonymous site, but I already have the location of the person that released the video. We can head over there now... maybe get the answers we so desire."
Gianna felt an imdiate rush of relief. At least this was sothing. "Can we go now?" she asked, surprising everyone in the room.
"What?" She laughed—or tried to. The sound ca out strained. "I will be fine, fam. I have been for four years and counting... surely you can see that..."
Athena exhaled slowly. "Maybe you can sit this one out?"
Gianna was already shaking her head before Athena could finish the sentence. "I am going. I am going to get the answers today."
Athena had no words for that. She simply looked at Spider and gestured for him to continue.
"The location is about thirty minutes from the mansion, give or take. So, we can head out now..."
Gianna nodded and stood with an energy that imdiately concerned the others. Too fast.
"I am fine," she repeated, drawing in a breath even as she ntally cursed the person who had thought it amusing to throw her past to the public like at to vultures. "And we need to find out motives too..."
Ewan nodded. "Yes, because both you and Zane are facing so kind of ruin... I don’t understand the full picture of the ga yet. Is it to destroy Zane using your past? Or to destroy you, make you flee the country? It’s kind of double-edged."
Gianna nodded slowly. "Then that interview will be held today."
She t Ewan’s eyes, her gaze suddenly steely. "You better round up your friend wherever he has gone to hide. We are having that interview today. I’m not going to let them win—whoever they are. Neither will I dance to their tune."
Ewan nodded like a chastened student, unable to stop himself. It was the first ti he was on this side, and he was beginning to realize that Gianna could be just as steel-spined as his wife.
Won in general, he was learning, carried more iron than people gave them credit for.
Forty minutes later, they stood in front of a shabby building.
"This is it?" Ewan asked Spider, who sat in the opposite seat, while Athena and Gianna were in the back.
The four of them had refused any additional company—not wanting to tip off their enemies or draw attention from the neighbors in the area they were heading into.
Still, those at ho kept flooding Athena’s phone with texts, insisting on being kept in the loop.
"Yes. Hopefully whoever it is, is around."
Spider stepped out, tablet in hand, and the others followed. He led them up the dirty stairwell, acutely aware of a few neighbors peering through cracked windows in the downtrodden building.
Despite dressing down to blend in, they still felt out of place. They stopped at a flat on the third floor, graffiti sared across the door like a warning.
Ewan knocked.
No response.
They exchanged glances.
"Do you think the person is around? Is there a way you can check for heat signatures inside? Maybe hack into the caras—"
Spider cocked a brow at Ewan’s rambling. "Do you think a place like this would have in-house caras? You think we’re back in the elite neighborhoods?"
Ewan scoffed. "Check for heat, then."
Spider’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Not at the mont. I’m not with my tools."
Ewan rolled his eyes. "Which is why it’s advisable you stay back and give advice from behind a system..."
Athena cursed under her breath as Spider opened his mouth to fire back. She stepped forward, physically carving space between the two n, and knocked on the door herself.
"Can you two focus on the reason why we’re here?"
This ti, a voice answered. "Who is there?"
Male, Gianna thought. Her heart rate spiked as footsteps approached.
When the door opened, a ragged-looking man, seeming to be in his late twenties, peeked out, his mouth parting to speak—then his gaze snapped to Gianna’s face.
Panic flared instantly. He tried to slam the door shut.
Athena was faster. She wedged her foot in the gap, bracing her shoulder against the door as Ewan moved instantly to support her. Together, they forced it open, the impact sending the anonymous blogger sprawling onto the floor.
"Good," Athena said coolly, dusting her hands. "You recognize us."
She smiled without warmth. "It’ll make the questions and answers easier."
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