“Is that advice?”
Oliver rested one hand on the counter.
“Or a warning?”
“Take it as either.”
Preston placed a business card beside the register.
“When you’re ready to talk about protecting Lucy, call me.”
Oliver did not touch it.
Audrey followed Preston into the alley.
Snowmelt dripped from the fire escape.
“You tracked me.”
“You appeared in a public video.”
“You pushed tenant buyouts before review.”
“I’m running the company while you conduct experiments on sidewalks.”
Audrey’s expression changed.
“You know.”
“I know more about you than anyone in that cafe.”
“I issued a stop-work order.”
Preston smiled slightly.
“You should ask whether Cole still believes your signature matters.”
He walked away.
When Audrey came back inside, Oliver was waiting.
Lucy had moved to the kitchen.
“Who are you inside Cedar Bridge?”
Audrey looked toward the door.
“I helped start the company.”
“How much do you own?”
“A large share.”
“That is not a number.”
“No.”
Oliver took out his phone.
He searched her full name.
Public information was sparse.
Cedar Bridge’s earliest incorporation material referred to A. B. Carile as a founder and capital partner.
Old photographs showed a younger Audrey beside Preston and two other founders.
Recent company pages did not show her at all.
One article described her as an early investor whose current holdings were private.
Oliver placed the phone down.
“That’s you.”
“Yes.”
“Why is the founder of Cedar Bridge sleeping above my cafe?”
“I’m investigating what Preston and Cole have done with Harbor Row.”
“Does Preston know Lucy is here every day?”
“Yes.”
“Is she in danger?”
“I do not believe he would physically hurt her.”
“That isn’t enough.”
“He may use inspections, money, lease pressure.”
“You knew that before he walked through the door.”
“I knew it was possible.”
Oliver looked toward the kitchen.
“You should have told me.”
“Yes.”
No defense.
That made him angrier.
Audrey continued.
“The secure apartment is ready now. I can move.”
Oliver looked at her.
“The hearing?”
“Eleven days.”
“You move when the apartment is ready.”
“It is.”
“Then today.”
Audrey nodded.
Oliver held her gaze.
“And no more answers designed to sound smaller than the truth.”
“I understand.”
She did.
What she did not explain was the fear underneath her silence.
People changed around Audrey when they learned what she owned.
Waiters apologized too much.
Strangers became attentive.
Old acquaintances suddenly remembered friendships.
Even kindness became impossible to measure because money entered the room before she did.
Oliver’s kindness had arrived first.
She had been afraid that if she told him the truth, she would never know whether it remained real.
That fear did not justify hiding risk from him.
Three nights later, the alarm sounded.
Oliver and Lucy were closing.
A red warning light flashed above the rear hallway.
Oliver checked the panel.
CARBON MONOXIDE.
His entire posture changed.
“Lucy. Coat. Front door.”
His phone rang.
Audrey.