"No!"


    Zach snatched the phone from Reese, his eyes wide with disbelief.


    The screen lit up, revealing everything hidden in that encrypted folder. The transfer receipts—the amounts, the dates-matched exactly what Tara had told him about the Ramos Corporation''s investment in Iron Financial. Even the time Tara had promised to help send the money was identical.


    Zach''s pupils shrank. He scrolled through the evidence over and over, desperately hoping to find some mistake. But every detail was there. The official bank stamp and the chat timestamps were real and undeniable.


    He kept whispering, "No way... This can''t be true..." His voice grew smaller with each word until it nearly disappeared.


    Deep inside, something told him Reese was telling the truth. She hadn''t abandoned him. She had actually been fighting for him in ways he''d never realized.


    Memories flooded back. Back then, when he was overseas, the Wiles family was after him, hispany was about to copse, and he was stuck in a hospital bed with nothing left. Tara had held his hand and said, "Don''t worry. Ramos Corporation just sent you two million. You''ll be okay."


    After he got better, Tara kept reminding him about that money, always saying it was the Ramos family''s kindness, always telling him to remember what they''d done for him. Eventually, that gratitude turned into something more-maybe even love.


    But now, with the truth right in front of him, he finally saw it: the money that saved him, the money that got him back on his feet, hade from Reese-the woman he''d doubted and hurt again and again.


    "You..." Zach''s throat felt tight, his voice rough. "Why didn''t you tell me back then?"


    He''d believed she''d left him when he needed her most, that she''d married Sebastian and betrayed him without a second thought.


    So when he came back home, he made sure her life was as hard as possible. He couldn''t stand seeing her happy, and he made it his mission to give her trouble every chance he got.


    Reese had always thought that after Zach learned the truth, it would make her feel at least a little satisfied to see him fall apart.


    But now that the truth was finally out, there wasn''t any satisfaction. Just emptiness.


    How did ite to this? They''d been childhood friends, inseparable, and now they were standing on opposite sides with nothing but pain and harsh words between them. Al those happy memories really had just faded away.


    She spoke softer, but her eyes were sharp and cold. "I told you, Zach. But did you ever believe me?"


    He wanted to argue, but the memory hit him. Reese had told him the truth. He remembered the look on Tara''s face, how relieved she''d seemed when he said he''d never trust Reese again.


    Zach swallowed hard, not sure if he was trying to defend Tara or himself.


    “But Tara... She had no reason to do any of this. She didn''t get anything out of it."


    He didn''t even realize how his tone had changed. He wasn''t saying her name the same way anymore.


    Reese let out a short, bitterugh.


    "Seriously, Zach? Are you really that


    blind? She got exactly what she wanted. She made you think she was your savior. She made you grateful loyal so loyal that you hurt me again and again for her


    "And the Ramos family? Because of you, they got in good with the Wiles family. Their status in the city went through the roof. Do you really think they didn''t get anything out of this?"


    Her words hit him like a punch.


    Zach staggered back, his face drained of color, still trying to deny it. "No... Tara


    isn''t like that..."