Chapter 4 - The Woman Inside the Fortress
Nikolai took Lena to a waterfront estate protected by walls, cameras, and men who seemed to appear from nowhere.
She stood in the entrance hall.
“This is insane.”
“Temporarily.”
“How temporarily?”
“Until I identify who's targeting you.”
“I have class tomorrow.”
“No.”
Lena turned.
“Excuse me?”
“You can't return to campus.”
“You don't control my life.”
“I control whether you're alive to attend Thursday's lecture.”
She stepped toward him.
“And there he is.”
“Who?”
“The man everybody's afraid of.”
Nikolai's jaw tightened.
“You should be afraid.”
“Of you?”
“Of this world.”
“You brought me into it.”
That landed.
Nikolai dismissed the guards.
“Everyone out.”
Marco hesitated.
“Boss—”
“Out.”
When they were alone, Nikolai loosened his tie.
“You're right.”
Lena folded her arms.
“That's becoming your favorite sentence.”
“Don't get accustomed to it.”
“Too late.”
Nikolai walked to the window.
“My brother Anton died eleven years ago.”
Lena's anger softened.
“He trusted someone who sold information about our family. Afterward, I decided trust was a liability.”
“And my note changed that?”
“I don't know.”
“You kept it.”
Nikolai turned.
“How do you know?”
“You're the kind of man who keeps evidence.”
A small smile.
“It's in my desk.”
“Why?”
“Because you expected punishment and chose honesty anyway.”
Lena was quiet.
Then she said, “My grandmother taught me that.”
“I read about her.”
Her expression hardened again.
“I know. Creepy investigation.”
“Thorough investigation.”
“Creepy.”
“Fine.”
For the first time, Nikolai looked almost embarrassed.
Lena smiled despite herself.
Then Marco entered.
“Boss.”
Nikolai immediately became cold again.
“What?”
“We found the connection.”
Marco placed photographs on the table.
A man Lena recognized stared back at her.
Her university department administrator.
“Professor Hale?”
“Not professor,” Marco said. “Financial administrator.”
Lena looked confused.
Marco continued.
“He's been moving money through restoration grants and university acquisitions. Mr. Voss's meeting on campus that morning involved those accounts.”
Nikolai finished the explanation.
“Hale saw you near my car. He assumed you were working for me.”
“That's ridiculous.”
“Yes.”
“And he searched my apartment looking for what?”
“Records.”
“I don't have any.”
“He doesn't know that.”
Lena stared at Hale's photograph.
Then something clicked.
“Wait.”
She grabbed her messenger bag.
Nikolai stepped forward.
“What?”
“My notebook.”
She opened it.
The corner containing her apology had been torn from a page filled with sketches.
Lena examined the page.
“Here.”
She pointed toward a rough drawing.
Nikolai leaned closer.
It showed the university administration building.
And, accidentally captured in the background, two men beside a loading entrance exchanging a document case.
Marco stared.
“Hale.”
Lena whispered, “I drew that while waiting for class.”
Nikolai's expression changed.
“This is what he wanted.”
Lena looked at him.
“Then give it to the police.”
Marco and Nikolai exchanged glances.
Lena noticed.
“Oh, come on.”
“It isn't that simple,” Nikolai said.
“Make it simple.”
“Hale has people protecting him.”
“So expose them too.”
Nikolai studied her.
“You really believe problems can be solved by telling the truth?”
“Not always.”
“Then why?”
“Because lies need maintenance.”
She tapped the sketch.
“Truth just needs daylight.”
Nikolai stared at her for several seconds.
Then turned to Marco.
“Call our attorney.”
Marco blinked.
“And?”
“The district attorney's corruption unit.”
Marco looked genuinely stunned.
“You want to hand everything over?”
“Everything involving Hale.”
“Boss, that exposes—”
“I know.”
Marco glanced at Lena.
Nikolai noticed.
“Say it.”
Marco smiled faintly.
“Nothing.”
“Marco.”
“You've known this woman four days.”
Nikolai's voice became dangerous.
“Finish that sentence carefully.”
Marco lifted both hands.
“I was going to say she's apparently the first person in fifteen years who can make you voluntarily cooperate with law enforcement.”
Lena covered a laugh.
Nikolai looked at her.
“Something amusing?”
“Very.”
May you like
And for the first time in years, laughter echoed through Nikolai Voss's house.
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