Debra jolted awake from a nightmare, her forehead slick with sweat.


    "Still torn up about Michael?" Marion''s voice came from beside her.


    She settled into his arms, finally feeling a little relieved. These past two months, they''d faced everything alone. She hadn''t curled up with him like this in forever.<fn5925> This text is hosted at FιndNovel</fn5925>


    "It''s my fault," she whispered. "If I hadn''t trusted Michael so much, the Eaton family wouldn''t have been a mess. Mr. Eaton Sr. wouldn''t have been in the hospital."


    "It''s your fault," Marion said, patting her back. "Even without your trust, the Illuminati would''ve found a way in. That was their goal."


    "I just can''t wrap my head around why Michael''s one of them," she said.


    She''d spent all night recalling the past, from meeting Michael to building the McKinney Group with him. He was key to its sess, but everything had been a lie.


    "Maybe he was never with us," Marion said. "The Illuminati''s everywhere. Didn''t you check his background when you teamed up?"


    "I..." Debra faltered.


    She''d noticed Michael in her past life for his achievements. Back then, she was shorthanded and sought him out, thinking she knew him cold.


    He was a broke graduate with a grandma to care for, but Frazier Entertainment had ignored his talent.


    In herst life, he''d been sidelined for being quiet, then poached and blown up. When he finally achieved something, his grandma passed away. He cried on air about failing her.


    Debra med herself for everything and wanted to make it right. They''d been a perfect team until his mask dropped. She''d never suspected him or dug deeper.


    "I know you trusted him," Marion said. "Never thought to guard against him. But people areplicated. It''s a lesson we''ll keep learning."


    "I''m so tired of all this scheming," she said. "The Illuminati''s too strong. Can we make it?"


    "Scared?" he teased. "The Debra I know doesn''t bow to anyone."


    "I wasn''t before," she said slowly. "But now, I can''t lose any of us."


    She''d once dreamed of wrapping up their battles, ditching the business world, and living quietly with him. Now that dream felt farther away than ever.


    Marion kissed her forehead. "We will win, I promise."


    They''d wed through hell to get there. He wouldn''t let anyone wreck their future, no matter how unbeatable the enemy seemed. He''d fight to the end.