"We was going to spread rumors she had some sort of disease, but we were worried it''d drag Sebastian in and piss off the Ratcliffs," Rosie said, her voice low and calcting. "But if this is about national security, it''s got nothing to do with them. We can totally use it to our advantage."


    "That''s what I thought too!" Tara''s eyes sparkled with excitement. "If we get something on her, we can force her to drop the charges and bring Dad home."


    A sly smile curled on Rosie''s lips. "Exactly. Get someone to find out what Reese is being investigated for dig up as much as you can."


    "And make sure it''s all done quietly. The Ratcliffs can''t know we''re behind this."


    "Rx, Mom. I know what I''m doing."


    Tara hung up, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. She could already picture Reese, desperate and defeated, begging for mercy. Tapping her phone, she started making arrangements to get someone on the case.


    Neither of them noticed that at that exact moment, Sebastian was standing in a hospital hallway, clutching his phone so tightly his knuckles had gone white. The words he''d overheard in IT kept echoing in his head: the Barnards had faked Reese''s medical report and framed Bruce, just to keep him and Reese from having another kid.


    A rush of guilt and fury hit him. He called his assistant, his voice rough but firm. "Look into everything the Barnard family''s been doingtely. If they dared to set Reese up, I want them to pay for it."


    The interrogation room at the national security bureau was cold and bare, all white walls and harsh lighting, the air thick with the smell of disinfectant Reese sat at the table, a ss of water in front of her that had gone cold hours ago.


    Two agents sat across from her, eyes sharp and unyielding. "Ms. Meyer, we''ve traced a file containing state secrets sent from your personalputer''s IP address to an overseas server just moments ago. Care to exin?"


    "My personalputer?” Reese met their gaze, calm and steady. “Like I''ve said, myputer''s been at home the whole time, and it''s protected by severalyers of encryption. There''s no way it could''ve sent anything."


    "We''ve checked the IP address. It''s yours," one agent replied, sliding a report across


    printout of the rott


    the table. And the


    And the files directly


    rted to the de Project at


    ckOak Labs. You were a core


    member. You had ess.


    Reese stared at the report, taking a deep breath. "You can check myputer logs. I haven''t touched it all afternoon. Besides, that file isn''t even de Project data. It was bait, something my colleague and set up to catch Leslie stealing files. She fell for it, and your team was supposed to arrest hér. This has t?, be her doing. She''s trying to pin it on me."


    Remembering herst time in a room like this made her skin crawl. She couldn''t stop shaking, her whole body buzzing with nervous energy.


    The agents exchanged a look, then one got up and left to check her story. He


    came back a few minutester, shaking his head. "There''s no update about Leslie''s arrest."


    "What?" Reese shot to her feet, shocked. "I heard Matthew make the call himself. How is there nothing?"