The hallway outside stretched on forever, way longer than Noah remembered from when he'd hustled in earlier with Chantel and Rebecca. Or maybe it hadn't changed at all, and it was just him, moving slower now, even though every nerve in his body had been screaming to bolt from that damn room. He'd locked his steps into a steady rhythm, forcing it right up until the door clicked shut behind him. No one saw the mask crack after that. But inside his head? Chaos. A goddamn whirlwind.He rubbed two fingers hard against his temple as he walked, this tic he'd picked up sometime in the black hole of the last three years. Like jamming a nonexistent reset button, hoping it'd reboot the mess in his skull. Didn't work, of course. Never did.None of it had been planned. Not a single word. Especially that line about the generals.it had bubbled up out of nowhere, some freak mash-up of gut instinct, bone-deep fatigue, and the icy knot that twisted in his chest when Victoria hit him with that "

"I mean I discovered nothing useful. When you first gave me this job, Stone was easy. Predictable. Apartment, gym, home. Like clockwork." He paused, and Simon recognized the pause. It wasn't hesitation. The man was clearly trying to putting his thoughts in order before he let them out. "I tracked him for what felt like a week without any trouble. Digger into his past with no problem. Got clear photographs. Mapped his routes. Standard work.""Then?""Then his routine changed." The man's voice remained level, but something underneath it had shifted, a faint edge of frustration that he was either unwilling or unable to fully suppress. "In a single day. He stopped moving alone. Now there's a convoy. Three vehicles, all tinted windows, moving in formation like they've been doing it for years. I couldn't get a clear shot of him after that. Not one time! Every time he steps out of a car, there's someone positioned exactly where they need to be to block the angle." He hissed bitterly.He lean

The photograph was different from the others. Not in quality, it had the same careful composition, the same attention to detail, but in context. The timestamp was from yesterday. The location was a restaurant Simon recognized: Le Jardin, a place where reservations were made weeks in advance and the waitstaff remembered your name if you were anyone worth remembering. He'd taken a woman there once, years ago, and he had been so bored with the little harlot that he had spent the entire evening looking at his phone.Noah Stone sat at a table near the window. Across from him sat a woman.Simon recognized her immediately.The widow's daughter. Victoria Lansing's eldest. Evelyn.The investigator had attached a small, handwritten note to the photograph, the script smaller here, more compressed, as though the information required more care in its presentation."This photograph was taken opportunistically. I was at the restaurant for another client—unrelated matter—when I observed Stone dinin

She paused, and something in her posture shifted, a slight softening that most people wouldn't have noticed. Her shoulders dropped a fraction. Her hands unclasped, then clasped again."I'd like to add self-defense training to your workout routine. Basic techniques. Situational awareness. How to identify threats and respond appropriately if I'm not there."Noah laughed. The sound surprised both of them, it came out louder than he'd intended, echoing off the office walls."Rebecca," he said, still smiling, "you exist so I don't have to learn things like that. That's literally your job. The whole point of you.""My job is to protect you." Her voice was steady, but there was something underneath it—not quite frustration, but close. She's certainly had this argument with herself before."I can't do that effectively if you have no ability to protect yourself. What happens if I'm not there? What happens if someone gets through?""Has anyone gotten through?""No. But—""Then I'm not worried

The words hung in the air.Michael's face went very still."Chantel is my CFO in function if not in title," Noah continued, the certainty still flowing through him, bright and cold and utterly unfamiliar. "She speaks with my authority. She is my authority, in matters where I've delegated it. And in this matter, I've delegated it completely. Her position is my position. Her 'no' is my 'no.'"He leaned back, his heart pounding against his ribs, but his voice remained steady."So yes, Michael. She should remember her place. And her place is standing beside me. Making decisions that I've authorized her to make. Speaking for this office when I'm not in the room." He paused, letting the weight of it settle. "I suggest you remember that."The silence that followed was absolute.Michael Chen stared at him. His face had gone through several subtle transformations.irritation, calculation, and finally something that looked almost like grief, quickly suppressed,.before settling into a cold, con