Page 57 of The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6)

As Dana Daněk climbed the stairs to the U.S. ambassador’s office, she had a feeling that this summons would be her last. The ambassador had turned on her heels and vanished after angrily confronting Dana about her visit to the Four Seasons and her personal relationship with Michael Harris.

I’m about to be sacked, she sensed, knocking quietly.

“Come in,” the ambassador said. “And close the door.”

Dana obeyed and turned to face her boss.

As always, Ambassador Nagel’s demeanor matched her unadorned attire—all business.

Dana found Nagel intimidating even outside her office, but right now, sitting behind her mahogany desk, flanked by the flags of both the U.S.

and the Czech Republic, Ambassador Heide Nagel looked like a lion about to consume its prey.

The ambassador stared at Dana over the reading glasses she always kept low on her nose. “Turn off your phone. Put it on my desk.”

“Am I being fired?”

“You should be,” the ambassador said. “Let’s see what happens.”

Dana turned off her phone and put it on the ambassador’s desk.

“You will need to sign this, ” the ambassador said, pushing a document across her desk.

Dana studied the document. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s a nondisclosure agreement. It means you cannot discuss what I am about to tell you.”

“Of course, ma’am, I’m just not sure that I should sign something without—”

“Would you like Michael to review it for you?”

Shit. The ambassador had a way of getting to the point. Dana picked up a pen and signed the NDA.

“Ms. Daněk,” she began, “your visit to the Four Seasons was reckless…and unfortunate. You were not supposed to witness what you saw.”

I gathered as much when that woman’s gun was aimed at my face. “Yes, ma’am. I would be happy to forget what I saw and simply contin—”

“Let’s be honest, you won’t forget what you saw. And now you’ve left me no choice but to make sure you understand what you saw.”