Zach's gaze flicks to the folder, then to me. "Then why didn't you tell us?"
That lands exactly where it's meant to. I feel it sink deep.
"I needed to keep her safe," I say. "The fewer people who knew, the better. You think those developers won't start sniffing around once they realize their files went missing? You think I'd put that on you? On Mom?"
"You didn't trust us," Finn says quietly, and somehow that's worse than the shouting.
"I was protecting you," I say.
"No," he says. "You were protectingher."
The words hang there, heavy and ugly.
"You don't get it," I say, trying to keep my voice even. "You didn't see her face when she told me what she heard. She was scared out of her mind, but she did it anyway. You don't throw someone like that away because it's inconvenient."
Finn's hands curl into fists. "You think we're asking you to throw her away? We're asking you to be smart. To not let your—whatever this is—make you blind. Because one mistake could cost us everything."
"She's not a mistake," I say, and the room goes still.
For a second, nobody moves. Finn shakes his head slowly. "Then you've already chosen."
Zach exhales, his shoulders sagging like he's aged ten years in a minute. "You should have trusted us," he says. "We could've helped you protect her. Protect the land. Instead, you made it a secret. And now, even if you're right, we can't tell where the line is anymore."
"I'm still your brother," I say.
Finn studies me, scraping right past the surface, and doesn't like what he finds. "You're the one who drew the line."
The door closes loudly behind us, and when I turn, Kassi stands there. She must have pulled up while we were fighting. Her eyes are wide as she takes in the three of us. She knows. But she doesn't need to hear the words to know what's happened.
Her gaze flicks to the scarf on the table, then to me.
"I shouldn't have come," she says sadly.
Finn's jaw tightens. "Maybe not."
"Finn," I warn, but he's already turning away, muttering something under his breath that sounds like you let the enemy into our home.
Zach follows him out, giving me one last look that cuts cleaner than any blade. "Fix it, Ash," he says. "Before you lose more than land."
The door slams behind them, and the silence that follows is a wound still bleeding.
Kassi doesn't move. She's standing just inside the doorway, hands knotted in front of her.
"I heard," she says finally, her voice barely a whisper. "I didn't mean to, but the door was open when I got here."
I rub a hand across my face. "You weren't supposed to."
She steps closer, tentative. "He's right, isn't he? I'm the reason they're angry."
"No," I say too quickly. "They're angry because they think I don't trust them."
"And do you?"
That question lands like a blow I can't block. I look at her and see everything I've been holding together start to crack.
"I trust you and them," I say. "That's the only thing I'm sure of."
Her eyes shine with tears she doesn't let fall. "But they don't trust me. And now you've lost them because of me."