Chapter 13: Pressure Points
Fear was a language.
And Sophie had learned to speak it fluently.
Not loudly.
Not cruelly.
But precisely.
Thomas Vance began making mistakes within forty-eight hours.
He canceled meetings.
Changed schedules.
Called people he hadn’t contacted in years.
Daniel tracked it all.
“He’s reaching out,” Daniel said. “Trying to figure out what we know.”
Sophie nodded.
“Which means he’s worried about what we might find.”
Claire crossed her arms. “Or what we already have.”
Then came the call.
Unexpected.
Direct.
Sophie answered it herself.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then—
“You should stop,” a voice said.
Low.
Controlled.
Sophie didn’t react.
“No,” she replied simply.
A pause.
“You don’t understand what you’re interfering with.”
Sophie’s eyes hardened.
“Then explain it.”
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Then the line went dead.
Sophie lowered the phone slowly.
Claire stepped closer. “Was that—?”
“Yes,” Sophie said.
Daniel leaned forward. “What did he say?”
Sophie looked at both of them.
“He’s not the one in charge.”
Silence filled the room.
Claire’s voice dropped. “What do you mean?”
May you like
Sophie set the phone down.
“This just got bigger.”
