Page 27 of Omega's Formula

The pull I feel toward Nolan is clouding my judgment.

Even if he wasn’t guilty—and the evidence clearly shows he is—he’s still not right for me. Nolan is disrespectful, deliberately antagonistic, completely uninterested in any kind of traditional role. He wore jeans to our wedding.Jeans. Like it was some casual afternoon appointment rather than the most important commitment of his life.

The doubt creeps back in, insidious and unwanted. What if I missed something? What if the legal team missed something? Alistair was charming, persuasive, the kind of person who could make you believe anything. What if—

No. I have to trust the process. Trust the evidence. Trust that my lawyers, some of the best in the business, did their job properly. The patent was legitimate. The contracts were solid. Nolan West’s claims were investigated and found to be without merit.

I pull up his case file one more time, scanning the documentation I’ve read a hundred times before. Everything is in order. Everything is legitimate. He is the con man that I know he is.

I switch to another tab on my computer—the security footage from the apartment building. I’ve watched it more times than I care to admit. Watched Nolan arriving with his single duffel bag. Watched the way his shoulders tensed as he stepped inside. Watched him exploring the space, touching the furniture, running his fingers along the spines of the books I left there years ago.

My old apartment. The one I bought when I was twenty-four, fresh out of business school and convinced I was going to change the world. I lived there for five years while building the company from nothing. Slept on that worn leather couch more nights than I can count, working until dawn on proposals and projections. The kitchen table still has coffee rings from marathon planning sessions with Anna.

I never rented it out after I moved to the penthouse. Couldn’t bring myself to. Told myself it was an investment, that the neighborhood was appreciating, that I’d sell it eventually when the market peaked.

The truth is more complicated than that.

When Sara suggested it for Nolan, I agreed immediately. Too immediately. She’d framed it as practical—close to the hospital for his sister’s care, already furnished, less suspicious to the Bureau than a brand-new lease. All valid points.

But that’s not why I said yes.

He’s in my territory now. Sleeping in my bed. I shouldn’t like it as much as I do.

The memory of our kiss surfaces unbidden. The press of his lips. The way his whole body had responded to mine despite his obvious hatred. The sound he’d made, low in his throat, when I’d deepened the kiss.

My hand drifts toward my phone before I catch myself. I am not calling him. That’s what he wants. That’s how the con works—he makes me desperate, makes me come to him, makes me believe I need him.

I don’t need anyone.

My phone buzzes with a message from Sara:Investigation update. Can we meet?

Finally. Something concrete.

I text back:My office. Now.

Sara arrives within minutes, tablet in hand. She’s wearing her “I have bad news” expression, which does nothing to improve my mood.

“The investigation is complete,” she says, settling into the chair across from my desk. “I’ve reviewed everything. Timeline, documents, witness statements.”

“And?”

She hesitates. Just for a second, but I catch it. “The acquisition was clean. Every document checks out. The patent filing was legitimate.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“There’s no problem.” She meets my eyes steadily. “I’m just... there are some inconsistencies in the timeline that I can’t quite explain. Nothing that would hold up in court, nothing actionable. Just... odd.”

“Odd how?”

“Alistair’s story has some gaps. Dates that don’t quite line up. But like I said, nothing concrete.” She shrugs. “Could be sloppy record-keeping. Could be nothing.”

Or it could be something. But I don’t say that out loud.

“Keep looking,” I tell her instead. “Quietly. I want to know everything about the original acquisition.”

“Erik...” She pauses, choosing her words carefully. “You’re investing a lot of resources into investigating a four-year-old deal that’s already been litigated. Are you sure this is about the company’s legal exposure?”

“What else would it be about?”