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The FBI agent’s lips thin, her eyes narrowing. But I can see the wheels turning.

“You were straight with me once, Ms. Medina,” she finally says. “Okay. But just a few minutes, then we figure this all out. But the door stays open, and if you think I’m not going to be watching everything you do in here like a hawk, you have another thing coming.”

On her way out, she pauses beside me. The room has started to tilt at the edges, and I realize I’ve been gripping the edge of Sebastian’s desk with both hands. Mercer looks at my hand, then at my face, and sets an unopened bottle of water on the desk beside me without a word.

I don’t know what she sees. I don’t ask.

As if those words weren’t enough, the look she gives me is a clear warning, one that I promise to heed, as she rounds up the rest of the agents and herds them out of the office. I can see her watching from the doorway, though, and when I turn around, I swear I can feel her gaze piercing the back of my neck.

But I forget all of that when I see Sebastian slumped in his chair. His fingers are resting on the keyboard and he’s staring at the email on the screen:

To: The Board of Directors

Re: Internal Breach Investigation

Following a comprehensive audit, it has been determined that the leak originated from...

“Sebastian?” I come up alongside of him softly, quietly.

“I almost did it,” he says. He doesn’t look at me, his tone defeated and broken. “I almost sent it. I almost ruined the lives of two people. I had convinced myself I was saving the company, and that if I didn’t give the Feds a target, they would tear this place apart until there was nothing left. I told myself I would take care of their families, make sure they were compensated for the time they served, as if that would make it okay.”

“But you didn’t do it. Look at me, Sebastian.”

When he raises his head, the dark circles under his eyes tell me he’s barely been sleeping. There’s a desperation in his gaze I’ve never seen before. His world is crumbling around him and he’s not sure what to do.

“This is my job. This is my life.” He glances back at the FBI agents and I wonder if he’s thinking of actually taking the fall for all it, regardless of what just happened. “Don’t you understand? I have to take care of them, protect them. And I’m prepared to be the bad guy to do it. I’m strong enough to take the consequences for everyone⁠—”

“Don’t you dare.” Jesse steps forward before I can say anything. Sebastian’s head snaps toward his brother. “Don’t let Dad win. Don’t do this.”

“If you go down this road, you can’t come back from it,” Aaron adds quietly, coming up to stand beside Jesse. “You’re better than Dad. Don’t become him by trying to save something that doesn’t matter anyway.”

Sebastian looks at his brothers, his expression collapsing into pain and defeat. “I don’t have a choice, Jesse. You don’t understand. I’m doing this to protect⁠—”

“Stop it!” Jesse shouts, his voice breaking. “I don’t want protecting if it’s going to take you down!”

Aaron and Sebastian look as shocked as I feel at Jesse’s outburst. I don’t know Jesse at all, but from what I’ve heard, he’s spent his life getting bailed out of trouble again and again.

“Don’t take the fall for this, Sebastian. Not this time. I fucked up. I fucked up so badly. Please don’t do this. I couldn’t live with myself if you went to prison and ruined your life because Dad tried to cover up my mistakes, just like he’s always done. It’s past time I take some responsibility for myself.”

Jesse’s words are heartfelt. Tears stream down his face.

Sebastian looks at me and then, with a sharp, decisive movement, he deletes the doctored letter and email. And for the first time in days, I feel like I can breathe.

“What did you just do?” The lead agent’s voice snaps sharply as she’s marching toward us.

“A mistake.” Sebastian stands, looking a little more like himself, the conquered man he was just moments ago now gone. “It doesn’t pertain to the case at all, but it’s in my trash folder if you want it, Agent⁠—”

“Mercer.” Her icy blue eyes flick to him, then to me. “We’ll see. You’re still under arrest, Mr. King. We have to sort through all this new information before anything else.”

Jesse steps in front of his brother, pointing to my laptop. “Look at it here now. You have what you need. You’re not taking my brother anywhere.”

I look at Sebastian. He looks like the man I first met: strong, calculating, and certain. He knows he’s not alone.

“If you take him out of here in handcuffs, Agent Mercer,” Aaron cuts in, “I will have our legal department draw up a civil suit for malicious prosecution and have it on your desk by noon. Or you can sit down, look at what we’ve found, and we can go after the person who’s actually responsible.”

Mercer stares with hard eyes at Sebastian for several long seconds, but then she sighs. “Clear the room. Keep the perimeter locked down. Nobody gets in, nobody leaves. Show me what you have, Mr. King.”

“First, my brother has a few things to tell you.”