Chapter 15: Lines You Don’t Cross
Daniel didn’t sleep.
Claire noticed.
He stayed in his office long after everyone left, the glow of his desk lamp the only light in the hallway.
Sophie found him there.
“You’re thinking too much,” she said.
Daniel gave a tired smile.
“That’s my job.”
Sophie stepped inside.
“No,” she said. “Worrying is not your job.”
Daniel leaned back.
“You heard what Vance said,” he replied. “This isn’t just about one man. Or one case.”
Sophie nodded.
“I know.”
Daniel studied her.
“And you’re still going forward.”
It wasn’t a question.
Sophie didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”
Claire joined them a few minutes later.
She closed the door behind her.
“We need to talk about boundaries,” she said.
Sophie crossed her arms slightly.
“What kind of boundaries?”
Claire held her gaze.
“The kind that keep you from losing yourself.”
Silence.
Then Sophie spoke.
“I’m not him.”
“I know,” Claire said softly.
“But that’s not how it starts.”
Daniel cleared his throat.
“There’s something else,” he said.
They both looked at him.
“I traced one of Vance’s outgoing calls,” he said. “It bounced through three countries, but it landed somewhere interesting.”
“Where?” Sophie asked.
Daniel hesitated.
“Chicago,” he said.
That didn’t make sense.
“They’re local?” Claire asked.
Daniel nodded slowly.
“At least part of them.”
Sophie’s expression darkened.
“That means proximity,” she said.
“Access,” Daniel added.
Claire’s voice dropped.
“Inside access.”
The realization hit all three of them at once.
Someone close.
Not necessarily a friend.
But someone near enough.
Watching.
Waiting.
“We tighten everything,” Daniel said.
“Security, access codes, internal files.”
Sophie nodded.
“And we assume we’re already compromised.”
Claire looked at her.
“That’s a heavy way to live.”
Sophie met her gaze.
“It’s a realistic one.”
Later that night—
Sophie opened the ledger again.
Nathaniel’s handwriting stared back at her.
Messy. Urgent. Human.
Not perfect.
Not clean.
But honest.
She traced one line with her finger.
And whispered quietly:
“You knew, didn’t you?”
There was a pattern here.
Bigger than Elias.
Bigger than Vance.
And maybe—
May you like
Bigger than anything she was ready to face.
But she didn’t close the book.
