After a moment of silence, Mrs. Smith finally spoke, her voice calm and steady. "We’re counting on him being too caught up in his own world to notice. That's why we need to make Mia, through Sara, seem like her life depends on Jared opening up."
"And what if she can’t go through with it?" Mr. Gregory asked, his voice thick with doubt.
"We'll deal with that if it happens," Mrs. Smith replied, her jaw tightening. "But we won’t let it get to that point. We’ve come too far to let everything slip away now."
"She’s right," Austin added, his voice softer but determined. "This is our best chance. It’s risky, sure, but what other choices do we have? We can’t wait forever, and we certainly can’t confront him directly without proof. We need to be smart about this."
"Smart," Miss Blake repeated, s
