Page 70 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

"This isn't about second chances," Alex countered, frustration building in his chest. "I'm not questioning his right to start over. I'm telling you what I saw today, with my own eyes."

"What you think you saw," Juno corrected. "Mrs. Harrison has all her belongings."

"That she knows of," Alex pointed out. "Maybe it was something small she hasn't noticed yet. Maybe he dumped it when he realized I was onto him."

Juno ran a hand over her braids, exasperation evident in the gesture. "Do you hear yourself? You sound like you're grasping at straws because you can't admit you might have been wrong."

The accusation stung, and Alex felt his own temper rising. "I'm trying to protect you, Juno."

"I don't need your protection!" She declared. "I need you to trust that I know what I'm doing. That I can make my own decisions about my father."

"Even if those decisions put you at risk? What happens when he's done worse than this and you can't ignore it anymore?" The moment the words left his mouth, Alex knew he'd gone too far.

Juno's eyes widened, then narrowed. "You know what? If my father is going to be in my life—and he is—then you need to find a way to deal with that. And if you can't, well, I don't know. Maybe we're moving too quickly. Maybe we need to take a step back..." She trailed off, leaving the implication hanging between them.

"What are you saying?" Alex's heart pounded uncomfortably in his chest.

"I'm saying that maybe you should focus on fixing your own problems before you start creating trouble for me." She reached for the door handle. "My father isn't going anywhere, Alex. So you need to decide if you can accept that or not."

"Juno—"

But she was already pulling the door open. "I have to get back to work. My break is over."

"Wait, can we talk about this tonight? Can I at least explain—"

"Actually, I don't think that's a good idea." Her voice had lost its heat, replaced by a coolness that was somehow worse. "I think we both need some space to figure out what we want."

And then she was gone, the heavy door closing behind her with a finality that left Alex standing alone in the alley, the taste of an argument he couldn't win bitter on his tongue.

28

Juno

Junostaredatherlaptop screen, the electronic banking portal displaying numbers that couldn't possibly be right. She blinked hard, hoping the figures would rearrange themselves into something that made sense. They didn't.

Beneath the current balance, two separate transactions processed through PayQuick, an online payment platform, stood out in stark black text: $16,900 for a refurbished espresso machine, and $26,500 for a company vehicle.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as she clicked on the transaction details. Both had been processed yesterday while she'd been working the lunch rush. And both had been initiated from her mobile banking app.

The room tilted slightly. She knew exactly what had happened. Knew exactly who had done this.

With trembling fingers, she grabbed her phone and called her father. The call went straight to an automated disconnection notice.

She immediately dialed PayQuick's fraud department. After navigating an automated menu and waiting on hold for what felt like hours, a representative finally answered.

"I need to report fraudulent transactions," Juno said, fighting to keep her voice steady. She explained the situation, provided her account information, and described the two transfers.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Thomas," the representative said after placing her on a brief hold, "but both payments have already been processed and the funds were transferred out of our system. There's no way for us to recover them."

"But they were fraudulent," Juno insisted. "I didn't authorize them."

"Were the transfers made from your account? Using your credentials?"

"Yes, but—"

"And you're saying someone else had access to your banking information and authorization codes?"

Juno closed her eyes. "My—my father. He must have gotten my password somehow."

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