Reese leaned back in her chair, staring at the worn patches on the wall. "Did Leslie ask to be sent abroad?"


    "She did. Herwyer already filed the paperwork," Matthew replied, his voice tinged with amusement. "Looks like you''re thinking what I''m thinking. Leslie isn''t really after Sebastian. She''s using this case to get herself out of trouble and pin it on someone else."


    Reese''s lips curled into a cool smile. "Can you set up a meeting with her?"


    Matthew sounded puzzled. "Why do you want to see her?"


    With a sigh, Reese exined what Alex had told her. "I have to let her know about Alex. If I don''t, I won''t know how to exin things to him without exposing my connection to Leslie."


    Matthew was quiet for a moment. "Alright. I''ll talk to the team tomorrow."


    Reese hung up, rubbed her forehead, and left the teahouse.


    Meanwhile, over at the Meyer family''s old estate in Brookfield, Grace was stretched out on a chaise lounge, a face mask on, picking at some fruit. Her phone rang. She checked the screen, then answered with a sly little smile.


    "What? How could you let Alex get away?" Her voice snapped like a whip.


    Alex had slipped away and her people hadn''t managed to stop him. Grace shot upright and tore off her mask.


    "What happened? Why would he just run off like that?"


    On the other end, the man sounded miserable. "Ma''am, we think he saw the news and got spooked. The people who picked him up were professionals. We couldn''t stop them."


    "What news? And when did he set up a pickup?" Grace started pacing across the bedroom.


    "It was the financial news from Bridger Lake tonight. Ratcliff Global''s chairman got pulled into some confidential case. That''s what Alex saw. He kept muttering about needing to find his daughter. We don''t know who picked him up. Never seen them before. Maybe it was the same person who visited him the other day."


    Grace''s anger simmered. These two idiots had already let Alex meet an outsider, and now they''d lost him. Still, she needed them, so she bit back her rage.


    "I don''t care how you do it. Find Alex. Turn the whole city upside down if you have to, but bring him back. Got it?"


    "Yes, ma''am!"


    Grace ended the call, fuming. She swept the fruit tter off the table, sending it crashing to the floor.


    "Useless. They can''t even keep track of one guy."


    For a moment, panic threatened to overtake her. Sofia had called her again and again, worried that Reese suspected something about Marie''s ident. The person who''d met with Alex had to be Reese.


    Grace had thought the whole thing was in the past. Reese had no evidence, so even if she guessed the truth she couldn''t do anything about it. But now Alex was gone, and he''d probably run straight to Reese.


    With Alex as a witness, even if there wasn''t any real proof, Bailey and Hank would


    start doubting her the second Alex told his story.


    She chewed on her nail, mind racing. Something the man said on the phone stuck


    in her head. She grabbed her phone and called Sofia.


    "Hey, Mom?"


    Grace walked over to the window, staring out at the perfect rows of flowers in the garden. Her eyes narrowed. "Tonight''s financial news. The case


    n. Besides.


    in


    Sebastian, who else showed up m


    the report?"


    Sofia sounded confused. "Mom, why are you suddenly asking about that?"


    "Just tell me. Who else was in the photos?"


    Sofia heard the tension in her mother''s voice and didn''t dare argue. She thought for a second. "There was a photo of Leslie. You know, Sebastian''s old me..."


    Grace ignored her daughter''s jealous tone. "Ask your dad if he knows whether Reese is involved in this case. Try to find out."


    "Why do I have to do that?" Sofia


    sounded irritated. "You have no idea what Reese''s been up to. She used. the de system deal with Vista Tech to squeeze Dad into giving her all of her mom''s shares!"