His mouth tightened.
“Maybe.”
Priya’s phone buzzed again.
She read the message and looked at Adrian.
“The board wants an emergency meeting.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
He laughed once, without humor.
“Of course they do.”
“I can explain the payments.”
“You’ll have to,” Priya said. “But there’s another issue.”
She turned the screen toward him.
“The anonymous source sent a second file.”
Adrian stared at it.
“What file?”
“A copy of Julian Carter’s death certificate.”
Claire stepped forward.
“Why would that matter?”
Priya looked from Adrian to Claire.
“Because according to the document, Julian did not die six months before Noah was born.”
Adrian went completely still.
Priya continued.
“The recorded date of death is four years later.”
The silence that followed was different from every silence before it.
Claire’s face emptied of color.
“That’s impossible.”
I looked at Adrian.
He did not appear confused.
He appeared afraid.
