Sebastian drew in a long breath, trying to force the tension out of his shoulders. "Grandpa''s still in the hospital. If you have time, you should visit him," he said, keeping his voice level.
Reese didn''t need the reminder. She''d go anyway. Mr. Ratcliff didn''t have much time left.
She gave a small nod. "I know."
Matthew caught her response and a hint of a smile yed at his lips. He nced at Sebastian, then leaned close to Reese and spoke quietly.
"Do you think the National Security Bureau will find any proof that Leslie and L were working together?"
A flicker of worry crossed Reese''s eyes. "Probably not. It won''t be easy."
Leslie had Sebastian vouch for her, so unless there was solid evidence she''d stolen state secrets, she would always find a way to dodge the consequences. Matthew noticed the tightness in Reese''s brow and tried to reassure her, keeping his voice gentle. "Don''t stress about it. Even if they can''t catch her this time, as long as she''s after the de data, she''ll make another move. That''ll give us another shot at getting evidence.
"For now, we need to focus on handling the fallout from the de data leak and keep the project on track."
Reese nodded, pushing her concerns to the back of her mind.
She knew Matthew was right-there was no point obsessing over Leslie when there was more urgent work to be done.
Sebastian just stood there, watching Reese walk off with Matthew, their heads together in quiet conversation. She didn''t even look his way, not once.
He''d caught the look Matthew sent him, and he hadn''t missed the pointed stare Zach gave him before leaving either.
He didn''t care what games the others were ying. When it came to Reese, he wasn''t backing down. She was his wife. She always would be.
His gaze hardened, something fierce and almost reckless flickering in his eyes.
He yanked out his phone, tugged at his cor in frustration, and barked out instructions to whoever was on the other end of the call.
Only after he got a response did the edge of irritation fade, and a small smile crept onto his lips.
Meanwhile, at Iron Financial-
Tara had already heard from Zach that ckQak was under investigation again. She''d been quietly pleased, thinking Reese was finally getting what she deserved. But she never expected the mess tond on Sofia.
When she got the news that Sofia had been taken in for questioning, panic started to set in. She paced
Pet
her office, one hand on her belly, her What if the
mind spinning.
investigation reached
if the
ΛΟΙ
DeepQuanta-or her?
She couldn''t believe how much trouble Sofia had caused. If she''d known it would
Her nerves were shot, and as if sensing her stress, the baby kicked gently. The sudden movement snapped Tara out of her spiral and she forced herself to steady her breathing.
No matter how she looked at it, she was sure Reese had something to do with this. Gritting her teeth, she called Reese''s number.
If it involved Reese, Zach was sure to find out. With the wedding and the baby on
the way, Tara couldn''t let Zach get close to Reese again.
Sometimes she just didn''t get it. After everything, after all those years, why did Reese still hang around Zach like some ghost that refused to go away?
She waited, but all she heard was a recording: "Sorry, the number you have dialed is unavable."
Her heart dropped. Reese wasn''t going to help.
Even though she desperately wanted to keep Zach away from Reese, things were now way out of her control. The whole situation had blown up beyond what she could handle.
Now she was so close to giving birth. One wrong move, and her baby could be in danger too.
After thinking it over and over, she
finally texted Zach, telling him everything, except she made it sound like Reese was doing it on purpose, like Reese was just out to make their lives difficult.
She had barely hit send when the office door swung open.
Before Tara could react, several men in ck suits walked straight past her shocked assistant and into her office.