Chapter 83 What Is Your Plan

Chapter 83 What Is Your Plan
Bella's POV

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, relief washing over me as I looked at Paige, waiting eagerly for her to reveal the name.

After hours of guessing blindly, finally having an answer felt like the first solid ground I had stood on all night.

Lyra spoke up first, glancing between Ethan and me, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"It wasn't actually that difficult once we started looking properly. The person we're looking for has deep hatred toward Eva specifically. Someone who would do almost anything for the chance at revenge, regardless of the cost."

I frowned, running through every name I could think of, every person in the organization I had ever crossed paths with, every conflict I might have caused without realizing its true depth.

One name surfaced almost immediately in my mind, and as I thought about it, I realized that she really had something to hate me deeply for.

I looked at Paige, waiting for her to confirm what I already suspected deep down, hoping I was somehow wrong because she knows way too much about the organization and also lots of important information.

She nodded slowly, her expression grave as the person was obviously someone important or a core member of the organization.

"The spy is Kim…Our female chief instructor and Ethan's ex lover." Paige finally revealed.

The name hit exactly the way I expected it to, a small confirmation settling uncomfortably in my chest.

“She was never my lover!” Ethan said defensively with a deep frown.

I looked at him as I remembered what I had seen back then and gave him a pointed look.

“She was just a bed warmer” he said.

“Yes, a bed warmer you threw aside when Eva returned” Naomi said from the side.

Ethan ran his fingers through his hair in anger and his jaw tightened. His hands clenching into fists at his sides, and the veins in his forearms were visibly bulging.

"That actually explains a lot," he said, his voice low with barely restrained anger. "How she suddenly took a long medical leave without any proper documentation. Why her line has been unreachable for weeks now, no matter how many times we tried contacting her. I should have questioned that sooner instead of assuming she just needed a break to get over things"

I nodded slowly, pieces of the puzzle clicking together in my mind. Kim had never hidden her resentment toward me, always finding small ways to make training sessions harder than they needed to be.

I had assumed it was simple professional rivalry, the kind that existed between instructors and their more talented students. But after walking in on her and Ethan…

I never imagined it ran deep enough to sacrifice two hundred innocent lives just to hurt me.

Naomi crossed her arms, her expression grim, and her voice low but certain.

"Kim is currently living at THE FIRM's headquarters. It has to have been her who gave away the location of the training center that got attacked. She would have known the layout, the security schedules, everything necessary to make that bombing successful and precisely timed."

"If she's been feeding information to Benjamin this entire time, there's no telling how much damage has already been done. We need to assume he knows more about our operations than we'd like to admit, possibly everything down to our daily schedules." Ethan said, running a hand through his hair.

I straightened slightly, my mind already working through possibilities, adrenaline sharpening my focus despite the exhaustion pulling at me.

"The only real way we're going to have any chance against him,is if we know exactly what my father is planning next. We can't keep reacting to his moves after the fact, always one step behind. We need to get ahead of him for once, before he strikes again." I said with a frown.

Ethan nodded in agreement, though his expression remained visibly tense, his mind clearly already racing through possible strategies.

An idea started forming in my head, one I knew wouldn't sit well with him and my sisters even before I said it out loud.

"I could pretend to align myself with him," I said carefully, while watching their reaction closely. " I mean I can act like I've reconsidered his offer, like I'm willing to join THE FIRM after all. If he believes I'm on his side, even partially, I could get close enough to learn his plans directly."

Ethan's frown deepened instantly, the tension in his shoulders returning in full force.

"Absolutely not," he said, his voice sharp with concern. "Benjamin isn't someone who falls for such simple tricks, Eva. He's spent decades building an empire on manipulation and deception and he'll easily see through you the second you try something like that. He knows you too well, better than anyone else alive right now."

"He wants me on his side," I said. "He told me himself…He wants my skills, my connections, everything I've built over the years. If I show him even a small crack in my resolve, he'll want to believe it's genuine, because it's exactly what he's hoping for."

"That's exactly the problem," Ethan said, his voice rising slightly with frustration, his hands gesturing sharply as he spoke. "He'll want to believe it, which means he'll test you constantly to see if it's real. One wrong move, or a little slip up, and he'll know exactly what you're doing. And knowing him, the consequences for that kind of deception wouldn't be gentle, even toward his own daughter."

Lyra and Naomi exchanged a worried glance, clearly sharing Ethan's concerns without needing to voice them out loud.

Paige stayed quiet, watching me carefully, like she already sensed there was more to my plan than I had said out loud yet, her eyes narrowed slightly with quiet curiosity.

"You're underestimating how good I am at reading people," I said, meeting Ethan's gaze steadily.

"I've spent years undercover, Ethan. Playing roles, convincing dangerous men I was exactly who they wanted me to be, without ever once breaking character… This wouldn't be any different"

"This is different," Ethan said firmly, stepping closer, his eyes searching mine with genuine worry. "This is your father…Someone who already knows every trick you might try to pull, because in some ways, you learned everything from watching men just like him operate for years."

I met his gaze steadily, unwilling to back down from this, my resolve settling firmly into place.

"I'm not planning on convincing him through conversation alone," I said. "Words won't be enough to fool someone like him."

Ethan tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering across his face, replacing the frustration from a moment ago.

"Then what exactly are you planning?" he asked, his voice quieter now, cautious.

"My plan is a little risky, but I think I can pull it off.”