Chapter Fourteen: The Business Connection

Felix found it on a Friday.

He came to my office with a folder and a look I hadn't seen before. Not nervousness. Not excitement. Something closer to fear.

"What?" I asked.

He closed the door behind him. He set the folder on my desk. He didn't sit.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"Get what?"

He opened the folder. Photographs. Documents. Names. I recognized one immediately.

"That's Julian's shell company," I said. "The one in the Caymans."

"It's more than a shell company." Felix tapped a photograph. A man. Middle-aged. Dark hair. Cold eyes. "This is Andrei Volkov. He runs a network that moves money for organized crime. Drugs. Weapons. People."

I looked at the photograph. I looked at the documents. I looked at the connection.

"Julian is working with him," I said.

"Julian has been working with him for years. The shell company is a front. The trust fund was going to be used to expand the operation."

I sat back in my chair. My hands were steady. My heart was beating normally.

"How much does Julian owe him?"

"It's not about debt. It's about partnership. Julian provides legitimacy. Volkov provides protection. They're in business together."

"And the trust fund?"

"Julian planned to use it to buy more properties. More fronts. More legitimate businesses to hide the money."

I closed the folder. I stood.

"I need to see Adrian."

---

Adrian was in his office. He was on the phone. He saw my face and hung up.

"What happened?"

I set the folder on his desk. He opened it. He read through the documents. His expression didn't change, but his jaw tightened.

"Volkov," he said.

"You know him?"

"Everyone knows him. He's been on the FBI's radar for years. They've never been able to make anything stick."

"Julian is working with him."

"I see that."

I sat across from him. "This changes things."

"It does."

"How?"

Adrian set down the folder. He folded his hands. "It means we can't just freeze accounts. We can't just expose him publicly. If we move against Julian, we move against Volkov. And Volkov doesn't play by the same rules."

"What rules does he play by?"

"None."

I considered that. I thought about Julian. I thought about Mira. I thought about the trust fund.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"We go carefully. We gather more evidence. We build a case that even Volkov can't escape."

"And then?"

"And then we take them both down."

He said it like a fact. Like it was already done.

I believed him.

---

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay in bed. I thought about Volkov. I thought about Julian. I thought about what would happen if we failed.

I got up. I walked to the living room. Adrian was there. He was standing by the window.

"You knew," I said.

He turned. "Knew what?"

"You knew about Volkov. Before Felix found the connection. You knew."

He didn't deny it.

"How long?"

"Years. I've been tracking Volkov since before I met you. He's connected to the men who destroyed my father."

I sat on the couch. "And you didn't tell me."

"I didn't want to scare you."

"I don't scare easily."

"I know. That's why I didn't tell you."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"You should have told me anyway."

He walked to the couch. He sat beside me. Not too close. Not too far.

"You're right," he said. "I should have."

We sat in silence. The city hummed outside. The clock ticked.

"I'm not fragile," I said.

"I know."

"I'm not going to break."

"I know."

"Then stop treating me like I will."

He looked at me. That same unnamed something crossed his face. This time, he didn't hide it.

"I'm not treating you like you'll break," he said. "I'm treating you like I can't lose you."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how.

"You're the only person who's ever—" He stopped. He looked away.

"Ever what?"

He didn't answer.

"Adrian."

He turned. He looked at me. "You're the only person who's ever seen me. Not what I've built. Not what I've done. Me."

I held his gaze. Neither of us spoke.

"I see you," I said.

He didn't respond. He just looked at me.

After a while, I leaned my head against his shoulder. He didn't move. He just let me.

We stayed there until the sun came up.