My jaw clenched. “Connected to King Enterprises?”
“Yes,” Marcus confirmed. “And Dunn Industries.”
Mila’s hand slid instinctively into mine. I closed my fingers around hers.
A shooting star blazed across the midnight sky.
Marcus continued. “Darren wasn’t simply an executive who stumbled into something he shouldn’t have seen. Years ago, he was placed inside King Enterprises deliberately.”
“Placed by who?” Mila asked.
“Victor Langley.”
The name hung between us.
Marcus continued before either of us could respond. “Victor Langley operates as one of Dunn’s primary strategists. Most of his influence sits behind the scenes, but his network extends through several corporate structures tied to Dunn Industries.”
“So Darren was planted as a spy,” I concluded.
“Originally,” Marcus confirmed.
The wind shifted, bringing with it the briny scent of the ocean.
“But something changed.”
Not something. Someone. Adriana. I knew how powerful a woman was to make even the darkest soul want to be better. My bet was Adriana had been that to Darren.
“How?” Mila asked.
“Darren dug deeper than Langley expected. The records he accessed didn’t just expose financial manipulation inside King Enterprises. They revealed the same activity happening across Dunn’s offshore accounts.”
Mila’s grip tightened around my hand.
This wasn’t news to me, but to Darren, maybe it was. “He realized both sides were dirty.”
“Yes.” Marcus’s voice remained steady.
“At some point, Darren stopped collecting information for Dunn. Instead, he began documenting everything.”
“Everything?” I asked.
“Shell companies. Offshore transfers. Internal communications. Laundered funds moving between both corporations.”
The scope of it clicked into place. “He built a case,” I muttered.
“That appears to be exactly what he was doing,” Marcus replied.
Mila stared out across the horizon toward the dark ocean. “He was trying to expose them.”
“Correct.”
The quiet around us deepened. “And that’s why he was killed,” she continued softly.
Marcus didn’t answer immediately. “That is the conclusion investigators are reaching.”
My jaw flexed. “What about Lorne?”
“They have enough financial records tying him directly to the laundering operation Darren uncovered.”
