Iris Caynes was set on justice.

The feeling of being both physically and mentally powerless underneath Dimitri's weight was still fresh in her mind, and the fear of what would've unfolded had Luka not been interrupted was... terrifying.

She knew exactly what she wanted to do.

Swiping through her contacts list, she called a specific number and pinned her phone next to her ear. Leaning a shoulder against the frame of her taxicab, Iris waited. Her finger was impatient; it tapped on the hem of her skirt until the ringtone stopped.

"Hello, thank you for contacting The Caynes Law Group. My name is Sally. How may I assist you?"

"Hey, Sally, it's me. Is my mom or dad at the office? I need to talk to them."

"Iris! Hey," Sally's voice rose in pitch. "Yeah your mom is here. And actually, she mentioned earlier that she was going to give you a call. Something important, I'm guessing." There was a wink in her voice.

"Hm?"

"You'll see," she sang playfully. Then came some shuffling over the phone. "I'm forwarding you to her right now. It might take a while."

"No worries."

The phone began playing background music. As she waited, Iris' gaze was directed at the scenery that gradually changed from suburb to city, where her apartment complex was located.

She closed her eyes, steadying her breath for the talk she was to have with her parents. Suing was no simple nor inexpensive action. But if it meant preventing future victims from Dimitri's evil, she was more than willing.

Abruptly, the hold music was replaced by a new voice. "Hi, Rissie! I missed you."

Iris smiled instinctively. "Hi, Mom. Missed you too."

"How's your new apartment?"

"It's... Well, I wanted to talk to you and Dad. Is he with you?"

"Oh, no. He's gone to the bank. Where are you right now? Are you on your way to your flat yet?"

"I'm in the cab, yeah." Iris nodded if her mom could see her. "Anyway, I was hoping you and Dad can come over—."

"How long until you arrive?"

Sighing, Iris abandoned her sentence and studied her surroundings. "I'm there now. Why?"

"Perfect!"

"Perfect? What is?" Iris knitted her brows as she multitasked grabbing her tote bag, thanking the driver, figuring out what her mom was on about, and thinking of how to bring up the situation with Dimitri. That is, if her mom gave her a chance to.

Her mom seemed to be finishing a different conversation before she replied. "Rissie, are you still there?"

"Yes. Now can you tell me what's got you so excited?" She stepped onto the pavement, brushing herself off.

"Okay. Before you go inside, check the car park. Look for something red." The static over the phone was laced with giggles.

Iris held a hand over her eyes to shield from the sun. Underneath a shaft of sunlight sat a white SUV, topped with a huge red bow on its hood. The accessory had hints of gold glitter. Iris noticed this when she closed in.

Jaw hung, she rounded it. "You got me a Mercedes?"

"Of course, I did! Do you like the white? I didn't know which color to get. And I wasn't sure if you preferred sedans..."

"I like it because you picked it out. But you didn't have to. Really."

"Well, you're going off to college soon, and I just don't want you taking cabs. I had a terrible experience in a cab. I almost got lost because my driver—"

"Yes, Mom, you told me the story. Many times."

"It was just ust horrible." She repeated, and Iris imagined her head shaking at the same time. "Oh. Before I forget. The keys are in your mailbox. I'm sorry your dad and I couldn't be there in person. We'll try and visit next week. I love you, Rissie. Enjoy your new Mercedes! Bye!"

"Wait, Mom, I still wanted to..."

No use.

Sighing, Iris peeled off the bow, placed it in her bag, and headed to the lobby mailroom. Upon entering, she was greeted by her doorman who dipped his chin.

"Good afternoon, Miss. Caynes. Congratulations on your car."

"Thank you, George." Fingers swam through her bag to find the keys to her mailbox. "Second day on the job, right? How is it so far?"

"So far, so good. Everyone here is pretty nice. Especially you. Heh." His cheeks reddened so he feigned a cough. "Anyway—even though you probably know this already—I let your sister inside your apartment."

Key in hole, Iris halted. "What?"

"Yeah." George smiled proudly, chest rising. "She told me you wouldn't mind."

Like molten rock, the girl's face dropped. "Are you... is this your way of being funny?"

"Huh?"

"George, I don't have a sister."

"Um. But. She said that she was. She even... showed me a picture of the both of you..."

Appalled, Iris shook her head.

"And now I'm realizing I might've let in a stranger who knows how to lie and use photoshop. Oh God."

Lips tightening, Iris quickly retrieved from her mailbox a bulky envelope and stuffed it in with the bow.

"I'll call security—I'm security."

"Don't." She waved a hand. "I'll just go see who it is. I don't want whatever this is to escalate for no reason. It's only your second day."

"Are you sure? I can at least escort you."

"It's okay, George. It's probably someone I know... I told my girlfriends about my new apartment." The thought wasn't a stretch. Many girls at school saw her as a close friend, or even a sister.

"Okay. But call me if anything goes wrong," he asserted.

"Alright."

***

Once the elevator doors slid open, Iris scrolled through her messages for any hint on who it could be. The fear settled in when she found nothing of the sort.

In no time, she was unlocking her door, repeating to herself that it was just a friend—

"Hey, sis."

The friend in question spoke, unexpectedly, from behind Iris.

"Go ahead and open the door. 'Kay?"

Iris complied, not because there was something sinister about the way the stranger murmured near her neck, but because of the solid object pressed against the base of her back.

"Now walk."

Robot-like, Iris did so, and the door shut promptly after. The intruder removed the gun from her back, and went, casually, over to the kitchen nearby.

Iris twisted her body for the first time to look at her. Dark hair, gum in mouth, gun in hand. Iris stared; she was good at recognizing faces, and this one in particular looked familiar.

"Who are you?"

"Mariette Leroux," she said between chews. "Dimitri's sister. Call me Marie."

Her body flinched at the name. "O-oh. You do look like him." She couldn't help but glance at the gun that Marie was now carelessly twirling around her hand.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Iris slowly repositioned a foot behind her. "Um. Why are you claiming to be my sister?"

"Because it's easier than climbing three floors to your apartment."

"What do you... want?" Her other foot trudged back, and she repeated the process in the same tiny increments until she touched the wall.

"To talk about what my brother did two days ago." Marie squared her shoulders. "I don't agree with Dimitri's actions. He's still young and stupid sometimes. He honestly shouldn't have tried to hurt you."

Hand on wall, Iris halted. "Are you... on my side?"

She chuckled to disagree. "Dimitri's stupid, but he's still my brother." Marie started closing the gap between them. When her face was only inches from Iris', she raised her gun. "Do you know, Caynes, what Leroux stands for?"

Iris couldn't take her eyes off the gun.

Marie leaned in and hovered lips over a cold ear. "Press that button, and I'll show you."

Iris removed her hand away from the security button it had been searching for.

"Sue him, and your parents eat bullets. I have eyes all over their law firm and every building in a five mile radius around it. I know that they stay late at the office every other day. How would you like to be an orphan?"

Breaths heavy, Iris stared at her devilish smile.

"Doesn't sound fun, does it?"

Iris held back a frown. "I wasn't planning on suing him."

"There's no use lying. I looked through the search history on your laptop."

Desperate, she inhaled. "Imagine how I must feel. You'd want to do the same if it were you."

Marie scoffed through her nose. "If it were me, I'd listen to the girl with the gun."

She shook her head. "Why are you defending him?"

"Family comes first, Caynes. I think you understand that just as much as I do. So for your parents' sake, keep your mouth shut. I'm not one to be taken lightly." Marie slid the gun into her shirt as she neared the front door. "Adieu."

The door slammed shut, and Iris broke from her stance. She sighed heavily, running her hands through her hair.

However, she had no time to comprehend what just happened; there was a distinct glimmer on the floor. In the sunlight that struck her kitchen tiles was a small flicker coming from an earring and its backing. Taking five steps forward, she bent to pick up the stud and concluded that it was Mariette's.

Then there were a series of knocks on the door.

Her head jerked towards it.

"Miss. Caynes, it's George. I'd just like to confirm that you're alright."

Relieved, Iris went to open the door. "George. Hi."

"Was it a friend after all?"

She smiled. "Yeah, we were just overreacting."

"Huh. Is it weird that I didn't see her leave?"

"...You probably just missed her."

"Right." He smiled before turning his attention to her palm. "Hey, is that one of those smart tech earrings?"

She studied the earring intently. It looked normal to her. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, that's a microchip, isn't it? Those tiny lines remind me of a circuit board."

Iris raised her palm. She hadn't noticed it before, but there were thin rigid lines printed into its backing. When she brought it closer, the circuit became more visible. "And... what does a chip like this do, exactly?"

George craned his neck to look closely. "I'm willing to bet it uses an NFC tag, so you have to tap it on your phone camera to see whatever's inside."

Curiosity rendered her silent.

He then checked the time on his watch. "Ah, I should go now. I'll see you later, Miss. Caynes."

Iris chuckled. "George, you can call me Iris. It isn't fair if I'm the only one on first-name-basis."

He smiled. "See you around, Iris."

Turning her attention to the gadget in her hand, Iris retrieved her phone. It wasn't good to snoop into others' businesses, sure, but all rationality was replaced with the intense want to understand just who had just threatened her family.

Ordinary people don't just do that.

Iris held the imbedded microchip against her phone.

The contact elicited a ding accompanied by a drop-down bar that appeared at the top of her screen. It read:

Project Evaughn: In-Progress Report

Shoulders straightening, she gasped at the name. When she tapped the file, what filled her screen were notes organized with titles, grids, and squares of photos. The first picture told her that this project was, in fact, about Eve.

The file was lengthy. It took her ten scrolls to get to the end. The last sentence was as written;

To be concluded on Wed. May 14.

Losing her ability to stand, Iris placed her elbows on the kitchen countertop. Bracing herself, she scrolled back to the top to begin reading. First was background information of her friend. Then in subcategories were two of his relatives; Neo, his uncle, and Damien, his father.

What caught her eye was a piece of information under Damien Ruhl's section. There was a certain name that caught Iris' attention.

Her name.

Damien Ruhl, former CEO of Ruhl & Caynes (currently The Caynes Law Group).

"What," she asked an empty room. Her first instinct was to call her parents to gain clarity. But... clarity for what? What was this project about?

Her answer was located on the next piece of information she laid her eyes on. The reason the file was so long was because of the list labeled Potential Buyers.

Iris blinked at the word, unable to process it at first.

She thought of telling Eve, but the thought was heavy and it weighed her heart down. How could one relay such news to a friend?

Instead, she called her mother.

"Rissie, hey!"

"Mom, this is important. Do you have a moment?"

"Oh." Her enthusiasm died upon hearing the tone in Iris' voice. "Is there something wrong with the Mercedes?"

"The car is fine." Really, she'd forgotten about that. "Was Damien Ruhl ever your law partner?"

"Oh, dear."

"Mom, come on."

"Yes, we were business partners and the firm was called Ruhl & Caynes before Damien left. Now why is this important?"

"Why did he leave?"

"He... wasn't in the right headspace to continue. He lost his wife, and his—okay, Rissie, why do you need to know this?"

"Can you get in touch with him again? I need to tell him something."

"Honey... that would be impossible. He took his life years ago." Her statement ended with a sigh. "I'm sorry."

"What? No way..."

"Yes, it's unfortunate. It's terrible that his son lost both of his parents. Goodness, and what was his name? I can't remember."

"Evaughn," she replied quietly.

"Ah, right."

Iris rubbed her temples. "Mom, I don't know what to do anymore."

"Honey, I can't help you if you don't tell me what this is about."

"Bear with me," she prefaced. "I just found out that someone is planning to sell him on a trafficking market. Her name is Mariette Leroux."

"...Rissie, what are you saying?"

"Mom, I'm serious. I can tell that she's dangerous," Iris urged. Project Evaughn was more than just a pretty file name.

The silence on the other end of the phone was elongated. "Mom?"

When her mother responded, her voice was small but grave. The background noise had quieted entirely as if she had stopped whatever it was she had been doing prior.

"Did you say Leroux?"

Iris quieted, noticing the change of tone.

"Iris Caynes, do you promise me not to delve deeper than you have to in that family's business?"

"What?"

"I believe you entirely. I've heard many myths about the Leroux, but with no evidence anywhere, no one can ever prove the rumors true." She sighed to herself before continuing. "Promise me you will only talk to Damien and nothing more. Goodness, I shouldn't even be telling you this because no one else knows, but I am a mother, and if this were happening to you, I would want to know everything."

She went on rambling, but Iris was stuck on one thing.

"What do you mean talk to Damien? You said he was dead."

"Yes... on record he is."

"Do you mean...?"

"He only attempted suicide."