Page 65 of The Marriage Blunder

“Pryce has been feeding him for over a year. Carolyn is only infrastructure. She was recruited for proximity, not her own initiative. The real operation belongs to Pryce, and it started long before Vegas.”

I let the silence stretch, then said, “Thank you, Delancy.”

He said, “I’ll send you the doc. You want to take action, or do you want me to do it?”

“I’ll handle it,” I said, then ended the call.

The world was quiet again. Not really, but in the way that matters.

Jude was looking at me, face as open as I’d ever seen it. He closed his laptop, set it on the table, and said, “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head.

He waited, because he knew I would anyway.

I said, “He called in sick today.”

Jude nodded, not smug, just knowing.

I said, “I’m not sure if that’s cowardice or respect for the chain of command.”

Jude said, “He didn’t want to look at you.”

I stared at the coffee mug, the half-inch of sludge at the bottom, the ring on the glass that matched the ring on my own finger. I said, “I trusted him with everything. Every number, every schedule. He was the first person I hired after I took the company solo.”

Jude said, “That’s how you know it’s a good play. He was the only person you wouldn’t think to check.”

I laughed, but it wasn’t funny.

Jude said, “Are you going to fire him?”

I looked at him, then at the city, then at the names on my legal pad. “He’s not just out of a job. He’s going to jail.”

Jude blinked. “Wire fraud?”

I said, “And conspiracy. And theft. And, if I can swing it, treason.”

Jude smiled, faint but real. “You can swing it.”

I picked up my phone and started the operational response.

First was Miles. The call lasted thirty seconds. He said, “I have it,” and I knew that meant the subpoenas would be filed before Edward even got out of bed.

The second call was to Lucas. He answered with a single word—“Ken”—and I gave him the update in two sentences. He said, “We’ll make sure Pryce doesn’t land anywhere soft.”

My third call was to my board liaison. The same, in clipped, cold language. “Edward Taylor is compromised. Effective immediately, all access revoked. Internal comms to be audited by a third party. No public statement until I say.”

He said, “Understood,” and hung up.

I set the phone down and looked at Jude, who was still watching, still present, still the only reason I hadn’t put a fist through the desk. “How long did you know?”

Jude shrugged, slow. “I had a suspicion. When you said the meeting schedule leak was operational, not technical, it was a short list, but I didn’t want to say it until Delancy confirmed.”

I nodded. The hands on the legal pad were shaking, just a little, but I put them flat and made them stop.

Jude said, “You’re allowed to be upset, you know.”

“I’m not.”