d with misty calm and gray haze. As she lay still, fragments of the previous night crept in. Her mind

nd headed in to the kitchen space, where the bare counter t

e. She brewed the coffee, letting its heat calm her as she took the first sip,

sage from a man who claime

fat

$102.7 billion, his influence reached far and wide, a shadow that Madison had spent years trying to escape. She knew her father was a ma

lit up with an unknown number. She paused, her hand hovering over the p

el

ame through the phone, steady and formal. "I am y

, her voice sharper than she

e could almost picture the man on the oth

swore an oath to stay silent, but now you're entan

"Entangled! Wit

replied, "It's.

rything about my father is complicate

this is important. There are certain matters... business dealings,

," crossing her arms defensively. "I don

cumstances. I'd prefer not to go into details over phone. For

n? Is this some

.made enemies," Cuban said. "And some of them

tone firm. "But I need you to be careful. Ple

ld argue, the

childhood memories b

and unw

for the first time. She'd thought it would be exciting, a cha

ing room while strange men on black suits walked in and out of his o

told her that they were family friends but the way they stared, she looked like a little piece in their game

away from those memories. She couldn'

ison, this is Mark Cuban. I've arranged a meeting tomorrow at 2pm

ted sigh, sh

l be

th a polished lobby. She checked in with the receptionist, a young woman with red

r to follow into a small conference room, its walls l

e said. "Thank

ut didn't sit down, anti

the chase. Wha

he chair across. "P

her hands crossed

table, containing a stack of pap

d flags. He has made dangerous enemies and they believe that he is in posses

do with me?" Madison asked

passed it to you," he said. "Or

y with unspoken pain. "I don't. I ha

hat's why I needed to warn you. You need to watch y

are t

d. "It's better if you don

isting. "Don't give me that 'for your safety' nonsense.

w. But if anything unusual happens, if anything out of the ordi

the floor. "This is a waste of time. I don't want to

way to Aaron's shop, her mind replaying her conversation with Cuban. By the time she arrived at Aaron's repair shop, grease and oil filled the air as

d as new." But something in the way he said it made

lied. Her voice p

on her. "You okay? Y

," she sa

tead, he handed over her keys. "If you run i

on no

ut couldn't. "Why did

p." He seemed caught of

t's

gs, Maddie. Sometimes people jus

eoccupied to decipher. With a quiet "th

he door and double checked the wind

e couldn't stop thinking about. Sh