There are racks of shotguns bolted to the walls, new since the morning I left, and every exit sign is now flanked by a red strobe, waiting for the order to blink alive.
The house is different.
Not a home, not a prison, but a stronghold awaiting siege.
The word comes to me unbidden citadel.
Lena finds me at the top of the stairs, an extra hoodie in hand.
"You'll freeze in that," she says and helps me pull it over my head.
The motion hurts, but I don't let her see.
She leads me down the side corridor, past the trophy wall, to the old study.
The door is closed, but I hear low voices inside—Ruairí's, and a second, softer, female.
The moment I step in, both stop.
Ruairí stands at the window, back to me, the navy coat from the night before draped over the chair.
The bloodstain at the cuff is still visible, though someone has tried to clean it.
He turns, and for a second, I see the man from the port.
The woman is the house doctor, I think.
She nods at me, scans my face, and says, "You're cleared. Just keep the wrist wrapped and watch for dizziness."
Then she packs her kit and leaves, shutting the door behind her with a click.
Ruairí gestures for me to sit.
I do, the chair still warm from the doctor's body.
He sits opposite, arms folded on the desk, gaze never quite meeting mine.
"We found something," he says.
He picks up a manila folder from the desktop, opens it, and lays a single sheet of paper in front of me.
It's a printout—bank records, the kind you only get with a court order or a good enough bribe.
The top line is a transfer from the O'Duinn account, the old trust that funds half the council's day-to-day.
The receiving bank is in Luxembourg, the account name a shell company, but the bottom line is unmistakable—three days before the abduction, one hundred thousand euro wired to a Connolly holding.
I look at the numbers, then at the date, then at the stamp in the corner.
The implication is immediate, but I let it settle before I speak.
"You knew?" I ask.
Ruairí shakes his head.
"I suspected. But this…" He points at the document. "This is proof."
"Why show me?"
