"Miles, I know what you want, but don’t waste your breath. My answer’s still no," I said, cutting straight to the point.

"You can’t take on the Murphy family," he replied, his tone hovering between a warning and an attempt to intimidate me.

I smiled faintly. After everything I’d been through, his words barely registered. "Maybe not. But I’ll still try. Who knows? I might pull it off."

"Like a mouse going up against a lion," he scoffed, ...