He paused, and I could hear the sound of papers rustling in the background.

“Call me back,” he said, his voice dropping. “Please.”

I deleted the voicemail.

We walked out of the club and onto the street, where Julian’s driver was waiting.

The cold Chicago wind hit my face, refreshing and sharp.

“Where to now?” Julian asked, opening the car door for me.

“Back to the office,” I said. “We need to make sure our backup servers are completely secure.”

“I’ll have my security team run a full sweep,” Julian said, getting in beside me.

As the car pulled away from the curb, Julian’s phone rang.

He answered it quickly, his face serious as he listened to the voice on the other end.

“Yes, Marcus,” Julian said. “What is it?”

He listened for a long moment, his eyes narrowing as he looked out the window at the passing city lights.

“Are you sure?” Julian asked.

He paused, then looked over at me, his expression turning grave.

“Understood,” Julian said. “Keep monitoring it.”

He hung up the phone and turned to me.