Anna's POV
After explaining for what felt like the hundredth time that I had nothing to do with Sean beyond professional admiration and that I'd let him and his team join the Phoenix Project solely because of his talent my mother and grandmother finally believed me.
I told them again about Sean's past: a top student forced by circumstance to work at the Olympus Club. This time, something shifted. Sympathy flickered in their eyes. My mother even wept.
The next day, Sean called with an update.
"The person who stole the data has been identified," he said, his voice taut. "But he's gone."
We gathered in the conference room. I sat at the head of the table, posture calm by design, though a storm brewed beneath my surface. Sean stood beside the screen, swiping through surveillance footage.
