Amber meets Shayla and tells her everything about last night😱 .

 Shayla’s apartment, early morning. Shayla opens the door to find Amber looking tired, a little disheveled, and clearly shaken.]

Shayla:
Amber?! Girl, what the hell—are you okay? You look like you haven’t slept.

Amber (stepping inside quickly):
I haven’t. I... I need to tell you everything. Last night was insane.

Shayla:
What happened? You didn’t answer my texts! I thought you were out with Marcus?

Amber (sinking onto the couch):
I was. But it didn’t end how I thought it would. Okay, listen—just promise you won’t freak out until I finish?

Shayla:
I’m already halfway to freaking out, but okay. Go.

Amber:
So, it started out fine—we went to that rooftop bar I told you about, the one with the lanterns and the view? Everything was chill at first. Marcus was being sweet. We were laughing, dancing. Then… this woman walks in.

Shayla:
A woman?

Amber:
Yes. In this silver dress, heels way too high to be comfortable. She looked like she walked straight out of a spy movie. And Marcus—he froze. Like completely froze.

Shayla (leaning in):
Wait, do they know each other?

Amber:
Oh, they more than know each other. Turns out she’s his ex. But not just any ex. She's apparently been blackmailing him.

Shayla:
WHAT?!

Amber:
Yeah. She pulls him aside to talk. I could see the panic on his face. So I followed them. Not to eavesdrop—okay, yes, to eavesdrop. But Shayla, what I heard…

Shayla:
Girl, don’t hold back now!

Amber:
She has pictures. Of him. At some kind of secret meeting. And not like “oops I went to a party” photos—like… shady men in suits, cash on the table, documents.

Shayla:
Documents?! Like—illegal stuff?

Amber:
That’s what I’m thinking. And she kept saying things like, “One phone call and your new little girlfriend will find out what you really are.” And then she looked at me.

Shayla:
Hold on—she knew you were there?

Amber (nodding):
She smiled at me. Like she’d been planning this. I grabbed Marcus and told him we were leaving. We get outside and he loses it—starts apologizing, begging me not to ask questions.

Shayla:
And you obviously did ask questions.

Amber:
Of course. And eventually, he cracked. Told me he used to run cons. Not like stealing cars or anything—he scammed people. High-profile ones. For money. He says he got out, that he's clean now, but that woman? She's still in it. And she wants him back in.

Shayla (staring):
This is some Netflix series type stuff. Did you go home after that?

Amber:
No. We drove around for a while. He didn’t want to go to his place—said it might be “watched.” I didn’t want to go to mine in case I was followed. So we ended up just sitting in the car by the lake. Talking. Until like, four in the morning.

Shayla:
So… what now? Are you done with him?

Amber (quietly):
I don’t know. I want to be. I should be. But Shayla, the way he looked at me... it wasn’t fake. And he said he wants to tell the truth—go to the cops if he has to.

Shayla:
Do you believe him?

Amber:
I believe part of him wants out. But I also think he’s scared. And part of me… is scared too. Because if this woman knows who I am, and she’s as dangerous as she seemed…

Shayla:
You might already be in too deep.

Amber (whispering):
Exactly.

[Silence for a beat as the weight of it all sinks in.]

Shayla (firmly):
Okay. First things first. You’re not going through this alone. We’re going to figure out what this woman wants, who she is. And you’re staying here for a few days. No arguments.

Amber (tearing up slightly):
Thank you. I didn’t know where else to go.

Shayla:
You came to the right place. But Amber? If we’re doing this… we’re doing it smart. And we’re not trusting anyone.