/1/114010/coverbig.jpg?v=b61e084f80ca31052ed92fc74b61d63a&imageMogr2/format/webp)
s of dark hair to Alyssa Clarke's face. She held a si
the wet pavement. It landed in a
it and get out. Don't ever come bac
o a sneer. "We can't afford the embarrassment, Alyssa. A cou
in a designer dress that cost more than the check on the ground.
pay for community college. You'll b
s to the next. She didn't look at the check. The sight of it,
ade. It scraped agai
e snapped. "Take the money.
ce wasn't loud, but it cut th
ent from a small, failing gallery to an art
azy? Did getting kicked ou
ter. She stepped closer, her voice a low whisp
ing of letters and numbers... it wasn't just a code. It was the highest-level access key
bet your entire fortune on that forged Augustin Frey painting, I was the one who sent
ed. That deal had been the turning point. The
ry single one of your key investments came from a note I tucked into your
dder that shook his entire body. He'd thought it was a
touched Alyssa's lips. "So, y
eight of her next words s
ised
ntrast to the mansion behind her, and wa
ked, her voice cracking. "
her parents' faces told her
phere in the Summers family estate was j
ething out of a spy movie, global maps and d
was an old man, but his presence filled the room, heavy and absolu
y hasn't the 'Sky-Eye' system
nd potential matches on the West Coast alone. We're narrowing them down now based on age and background. There are thirty-seven high-priority targets. One of them,
in his throat. A fire ig
"Whatever it takes. Confirm her identity. I will n
p phone on the outside. But as she keyed in a sequence, the standard monochrome display flickered, replaced by a complex, enc
r. It was answered
now. Colder. Sharper.
omorrow morning, we begin a full acquisition o
eplied from the othe
wet streets. There was no fear in her eyes. No uncertainty.
b, silent as a shadow. A driver got out, op
/1/114010/coverbig.jpg?v=b61e084f80ca31052ed92fc74b61d63a&imageMogr2/format/webp)