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CAROLINE

“It’s done.”

“What’s that?” Sophia asks. “What did you do?”

“I told him everything.”

“And?”

“He denied it.”

“As expected. That’s why we need surveillance. Give us time to listen. You didn’t?—”

“No, I didn’t tell him, although he suspects.”

“Wait…where are you?”

“In his house.”

“Where is he?”

“He left to calm down. When he returns, we’ll continue talking.”

“We didn’t pick up a conversation. Are the mics?—”

“We talked in the kitchen.”

“While he’s gone, activate a listening device in his kitchen.”

“Sophia.” My gaze rolls to the ceiling.

“What? That area of the house needs to be bugged, too.”

I pull out a stool and sit, hit by a wave of exhaustion as the adrenaline declines. I set the phone to speaker and set it flat on the countertop.

“There was another attack.” Sophia’s voice sounds hollow in the vast great room.

“I’ve been with Dorian. It wasn’t him.”

“We both know someone with his resources would be the architect, not the trigger man. Satellite networks, quantum computing, global reach—he has the perfect infrastructure for coordinating disparate events while maintaining plausible deniability.”

“And we have no evidence he’s funding terrorists.”

“Simply because we haven’t identified the funding mechanism doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, especially given a funding mechanism has to exist.”

She’s right. But why would someone finance domestic terrorism?

As an analyst, we’re taught to study terrorist profiles and motivations.

At the moment, we’re at a disadvantage because we’re guessing.

We don’t know if it’s a country, a group, or a highly influential whale. Sophia believes it’s the latter.

Others are exploring scarier possibilities: Russia, China, North Korea, extremist groups.

Arrow wants me to vet Dorian as a conceivable whale.

If I focus solely on my role—vetting Dorian—I should start with the basics.

I should consider his biography. What socializing experiences does he have, and what personality traits affect his decision-making and leadership style?

In short, I need to understand his rationale to best predict his future behavior.

He stormed out because he didn’t like being accused, but is he also guilty?

“Let me send a car for you,” Sophia says.

“No. I need to hear him out.”

“I don’t like this. If he’s guilty, you’re not in a safe place. Men like him don’t react well when cornered.”

“Can you ask the team to look into his satellite contracts? I’ve been thinking about the why.

He’s got contracts the world over. Zenith is Dorian’s baby.

A company he founded as opposed to inherited.

Can you see if there’s any connection between these random events and Zenith contracts being granted? ”

“You’re thinking it’s coming down to money?”

No, he has more than he can spend in a lifetime. But for some, acquisition becomes an addiction.

But this is Dorian.

“It wouldn’t just be money. That’s what I want to understand.”

Motivation is the key to understanding the human mind. The words from a Langley instructor tell me I’ve been approaching this all wrong.

“Power, perhaps? See if you can access the contracts. What information does Zenith collect? What restrictions do the contracts place on them? See if there are any significant variances between countries in those contracts. Do you get where I’m going?”

“I’ll get a team on it. See what they can uncover. It’ll take some time.”

“Also, look to see who benefits if Dorian is framed.” A thought comes to mind. “You told me you couldn’t tell me your source, but–”

“Our initial source has determined it’s not Dorian.”

“And you don’t find that suspicious?”

“We do. Do you remember that list of names we showed you in the briefing?”

“Yes.”

“Our source is one of the unlisted names. Nicholas Ivanov. British national, Russian descent.”

“You’re still researching Dorian because you haven’t decided if you trust Nick.

” Her silence confirms my assumption. Nick’s reputation is less than sterling.

“I know Nick, by the way. He was in our wedding.” But I understand why they didn’t leverage my relationship with Nick for information.

I recently debriefed a deep undercover operative who worked closely with Nick for years.

If the team needed an expert to weigh in on Nick Ivanov, they’d go to that source.

“Caroline, we’re still pursuing this angle because he remains a person of interest. In the meantime, I’m sending a team to the gate.”

“I’m staying.” What I’m not sharing is that I need to stay for reasons that have nothing to do with Project Unity.

“Luke’s pushing hard for you to return. He’s concerned for your safety.” Her voice drops an octave. “I know you said you’re not interested, but all signs here point to a spark on his side. And a highly protective streak.”

Zero chemistry existed between Luke and me. I sigh loudly so she’ll back off.

“Tell Luke there’s no need to worry, and I’ll see him when I’m back.”

“Do you want to tell him yourself?”

“Negative.”

“Someone’s been hanging out with the Arrow Tactical guys.” I can hear her smile.

“Your fault.”

“Be safe.”

The call ends, and I glance around the sparse living area.

They want evidence .

Little of Dorian is in this house. He’s not someone to hold on to sentimental items.

He has your photos hanging on his office walls.

With that thought, I return to his office.

* * *

“Cara!”

The shout echoes through the hall with an urgency that sends me running.

“What happened?”

Dorian appears, face flushed, beads of sweat along his brow.

He bends over, breathing through his mouth, but his gaze stays on me, as if he’s confirming I’m real.

“You thought I’d left.”

He nods at my statement, hands on his waist, scanning the space.

“Are you digging through my stuff?”

“Yes.”

His hands fall to his side, and he arches his spine to breathe deeply.

“Why are you out of breath? You’re in good shape.”

He gives me a look that says he’d like to smack my bottom.

“I ran all around the house looking for you. Up and down the stairs.” His gaze falls to the files stacked on his desk.

“Did you find anything useful?”

“No.”

He exhales a loud huff. “All right. Let’s do this.”

“What?”

“Point by point. I’m going to prove my innocence.”

He swipes his brow, sits down on the sofa, and slings an ankle over his knee. With one arm slung on the armrest and one over the back of the couch, he’s the quintessential relaxed man. However, I’d wager he’s anything but.

“You mentioned the Baltic Sea wire cutting, attacks on electrical substations, and an EMP attack. Let’s tackle them one by one.

Russian fishing boats were observed in the area.

Only, the fishers onboard those boats were seen doing calisthenics each morning.

They weren’t fishermen; they were Russian military.

The world recognizes Russia is responsible. They’re testing and learning.”

“Right. No one suspects you’re behind those.”

“A beautiful thing.”

I roll my eyes, grin, and then focus. “The attacks on the United States electrical substations have been ongoing. Current theory places the blame on white supremacists or other small terrorist groups.”

“If you’re thinking I’d hire someone to take a shotgun and shoot up a substation, you’re wrong. And frankly, it hurts for you, of all people, to believe I’d do something like that. And why in the bloody hell do you think I’d allow an EMP attack that takes out my satellites? What’s the logic?”

“For the record, I don’t believe you’re guilty.

I suspected your father.” Our eyes lock, and his gaze softens.

“But not you.” It could be my mind playing tricks, but I feel like his demeanor visibly calms with my admission.

“At the moment, we’ve divided efforts to investigate persons and countries of interest.”

“And they assigned you to investigate me.” His dry, clipped words tell me exactly how he feels about that. Fair .

“I volunteered.”

His index finger taps a steady beat on the leather armrest.

“Because I believe you’re innocent. The more suspects we eliminate, the closer we come to figuring out how to stop further attacks or…” It sounds surreal to say this… “Avoid a world war.”

“Nick made a cryptic comment. Told me to keep you here, to keep you safe.”

“Did he?” I pick up my phone and tap out a quick note to remember to discuss this with Sophia, now that I know he’s the source who originally named Dorian.

When I set my phone back down, I meet his gaze once again. I could join him on the sofa, but it’s better to keep the desk between us.

“We have confirmation that you met with arms dealers and government leaders on the terrorist watch list.”

He shrugs. “I’m sure I have. As a matter of practice, I don’t scrub my meetings with the terrorist watch list. To be honest, I don’t know that I’ve ever obtained the list. Why would I?

Without having seen your list, I’d bet those meetings pitched Zenith.

Or it’s possible they’re Bedrock clients.

Now”—he holds up an index finger—“we do our research to ensure we minimize our exposure for funding terrorism. So if those meetings had something to do with a Bedrock connection, that would be an error of due diligence within the firm, and I’d appreciate knowing who we shouldn’t be taking on as an investment client.

But,” he waves a hand in the air, “I shouldn’t have mentioned that.

As a board member, it’s rare that I meet with a Bedrock client.

That would likely be a coincidence with us taking part in the same conference or symposium. ”

That’s exactly what I assumed.

“You’ve also been hedging complex derivative trades and shorting positions before events.”