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“The mole has returned to the burrow. I repeat, the mole has returned to the burrow,” I announce enigmatically as I enter Vadim’s office, only to realize a little too late that he isn’t alone.
“No need for that face, Alma. Everything’s fine,” Vadim laughs softly as he comes toward me, dressed in a steel-gray suit.
He flashes me a teasing smile, then invites me to sit down. The armchair next to mine is already occupied by a man in his fifties with an athletic build, dressed all in black: a turtleneck, pleated pants, and leather loafers. I barely have time to meet his piercing gaze before he introduces himself, holding out a gigantic hand to me.
“I’m Adrian Forester. Nice to meet you. Officially, I’m your boss’s bodyguard.”
“Adrian is actually an old friend, too,” Vadim explains to me, taking a seat behind his desk. “But that’s not all. He worked for the FBI for a long time, and he provides a range of extremely valuable services. The kind of assignments you can’t entrust to just anyone. He took care of Max and Abby, for example.”
“I see.”
“Alma, relax, I trust him implicitly.”
“And vice versa,” Adrian adds.
The two men lock eyes, faint smiles playing on their lips. I sense a deep bond between them, along with immense respect.
“So, Kate stays put, as planned?” I ask.
“Yes, that will be the most effective strategy,” Forester confirms.
“We can’t let on that we know about her,” Vadim continues. “We need to act as if nothing has changed.”
“So, roughing her up is off the table then?” I mutter.
Both men nod, suddenly serious.
“She’s the only one who can, unwittingly, provide us with evidence against her father. Thanks to her, I’ll be able to avenge my parents and put that bastard behind bars. For good.”
It’s the orphan speaking to me now, his jaw clenched and his heart set on revenge. It breaks my heart. I’m dying to pull him into my arms, but I can’t with Adrian there. I don’t know what he knows about us.
“You can count on me, Vadim,” I say simply.
“The surveillance has already begun,” Adrian informs me. “I’ve had her phone tapped. Her office, her car, her apartment: wherever she goes, whatever she does, we’ll be able to hear everything. The same goes for her virtual conversations, her emails, her downloads, and her files. I’m going to monitor everything. Very closely.”
“And is that… legal?”
“Definitely not,” Vadim says with a calm smile. “But nobody will know, except the three of us.”
“Aren’t you worried it will take months, maybe even years?”
“Surveillance is a game of patience, Alma. But Kate seems to feel very safe around you. She’s in contact with her father fairly frequently. It shouldn’t take long to gather the evidence.”
A doubt suddenly crosses my mind.
“What if she doesn’t know? What if she has no idea that her father is an assassin, or at least, the one who was pulling the strings? Maybe she doesn’t know he’s tied to all this!”
Vadim nods slowly, letting me know he’s already thought of that. “We have nothing to lose by trying, Alma. And even if it doesn’t advance my own investigation, it will at least give us something to use against Skylight. Their exchanges will be a real goldmine of information. We’ll have advance warning of what they’re plotting against King Productions, but we’ll also learn more about their business activities. And that will allow us to protect ourselves, but also—”
“To outsmart them,” I murmur.
“Exactly,” Vadim says with a smile.
“Alma, it’s absolutely crucial that you don’t let on,” Adrian reminds me. “We need Kate to trust you. She must not feel targeted or spied on. Don’t do anything that might give you away.”
“So, I’ll cross ‘Throw her into the cargo hold of a plane and send her straight back to Daddy’ off my list,” I respond sourly.
The two men stare at me for a few seconds, then exchange an amused look.
