Lily's dossier on Adriana Voss was ready by eight the next morning, and the first thing it told Derick was that she was genuinely impressive.Thirty-four years old, born in Vienna, educated in Switzerland and Paris, and publicly known as the primary heiress to the Voss pharmaceutical group, which had been one of Europe's most respected family-owned drug development companies for four decades. No scandals. No legal involvement of any kind. A modest public profile built on genuine charitable work in healthcare access across Eastern Europe, and a personal reputation in business circles that was consistently described as discreet, intelligent, and careful.Derick read through the dossier twice at his desk with his coffee going cold beside him, and every page confirmed the same picture: a woman who had spent her adult life building exactly the kind of reputation that was impossible to attack and easy to trust.Then he reached the family section, and Lily appeared in his doorway at precisel

Dominic Ashford arrived at Titan Holdings at nine in the morning with a leather portfolio under his arm and the unhurried energy of a man who had spent the previous twenty-four hours doing serious work.He shook Derick's hand at the conference room door and sat down without small talk, which was the version of him Derick had come to respect most. Lily was present, and Dominic had brought no one, which was itself a statement about the level of trust he had decided to extend."Before you brief me," Dominic said, setting the portfolio flat on the table, "I have something to tell you first."Derick sat back. "Go ahead.""Three months ago," Dominic said, "Meridian Capital was approached by two investment groups offering a coordination proposal. A shared strategic framework across several sectors. They described it as a long-term alignment between significant private capital pools." He paused. "I declined. The terms required more transparency into Meridic's operations than I was comfortable

Senator Paul Granger arrived at Titan Holdings on Thursday afternoon without a single member of staff and without a security detail. Derick had Lily show him in, and when Granger sat down across the conference table, he did not reach for his phone or arrange his jacket or do any of the small things that people do when they are buying time before they speak.He simply looked at Derick and said. "I want to understand how you see this situation, and then I want to tell you how I see it.""Go ahead," Derick said.Granger folded his hands on the table. "I have been involved with Beacon Policy Group for four years," he said. "I brought other members in. I supported the legislative work because I believe, genuinely, that coordinated private sector frameworks produce more stable economic outcomes than government regulation in most market categories." He looked at Derick steadily. "I understand that you've framed this as regulatory capture and I understand why that framing was effective with

The problem with Adriana's warning was that it could be true about almost anyone.Derick sat with that fact for two hours after returning to the office, looking at nothing in particular."Someone you've already met. Someone you trust".Those words were precise enough to be significant and vague enough to be useless as a starting point.The person he was looking for was inside his circle, which means it could be anyone he trust.He could not go to Lily until she's cleared.He could not go to Victor until he's cleared.He could not go to Charlotte, Marcus, Lord Pemberton, or any of his people.He sat in his office until half past nine and then he picked up his phone and called three people.Jackson answered on the second ring, and Derick kept the explanation brief."I need you to run something for me," Derick said. "Completely separate from any current operation. And i don't want any involvement from anyone on the existing team.""What's the scope?" Jackson asked."A mole investigation,

The page was already on the table when Sebastian Dubois walked into his own dining room.Derick had arrived at the Paris estate unannounced, which was the point, and Sebastian's housekeeper had shown him in without hesitation because Derick had visited three times before and his name had always been welcomed. By the time Sebastian appeared in the doorway, still in the shirt he had traveled home in, his jacket over one arm, Derick was already seated with the single printed sheet in the middle of the table between them.Sebastian looked at the page from the doorway, and something shifted in his face that was not surprise and was not defiance. It was the expression of a man who had been waiting for a particular moment for some time and recognized it when it arrived.He set his jacket on the back of a chair, sat down, and looked at the page for a moment before he looked at Derick."How long have you known?" he asked."Long enough," Derick said. "How long have you been doing it?"Sebastian