The Banker's secret

pte

e E

agments of a photograph no one had actually seen. Lawyers tightened their grip on their coffee. Access logs wer

ould feel like evidence had been erased, something a guilty man would do. Camilla was already making her moves downstairs. The legal department of the company received a private memo with the subject line "internal reorg." It carried the authority of the executive board and t

y now-not with admiration, but calculation. She had become both shield

couldn't conta

e of Rodrick's most dependable allies, requested a private audience by evening. "Just to clarify a few things," he said carefully, as if clarity weren't already a threat. Althou

ould take was a single name leaking from the files she now controlled. One name, one loose thread-and Langst

ut had

't war.

t was

n a cold world. Before she knew what betrayal tasted like, before the blood on her hands ever dried, there was Marcus-lean, composed, and brilliant. An analyst with field

she lied, her lips tightened, her left hand trembled, and her voice dropped half a tone when she mentioned Rodrick Cane. Rodrick Cane. Marcus' jaw stiffened at the mention. Rodrick had been Elena's new flame, the rogue asset Marcus was ordered to eliminate-or at least dism

eyes colder than usual, Marcus knew the balance was slipping. Her silence toward him felt hea

dn't all

ugh whispers, hints, and small failures in Elena's intel streams. He made her question Rodrick's

tographs of Rodrick interacting with Eastern brokers and exchanging data from the black ma

s chair with his fingers crossed. "

oom was sterile. Elena sat across from him with a guarded posture. She wore a leather jacket

by him. We have established Rodrick's b

open it. "

calm, but his pulse t

lightly-as she leafed through the photos. Rodrick with a briefcase. Rodrick w

But Marcus had trained himse

t ties with them,"

behind her, leaning clo

ou think this means someth

hispered. "You're just afraid of what it

not here for your lectures, Marcus. or your

tepping in front of her. "Bring Rodrick i

n shut. Her eyes glimmere

it. Better fury than indiffer

empty chair. The scent of her lin

what love you choose, E

later, she

he had vanished off the grid, like a ghost from his past. His hands shook as he poured scotch into a crystal tumbler in his apartment. He

he door shatt

d been taped to the frame. No sender. There is

were w

ick-bruised, bleeding, al

use Rodrick lived. However, as a result of Elena's decision not

wasn't

a new order: Asset EL-6 is compromised. Elimina

tared at

ngers h

e click

e monitor, the man who once