“Callum,” she said, her voice echoing in the quiet hallway.

“The board has reached a decision.”

Behind her, I could see the other board members sitting around the long mahogany table.

Some of them were looking at their tablets; others were looking out the window at the rain.

None of them looked at Callum.

The phone in Callum’s hand began to ring, its vibration loud in the small space between us.

He looked down at the screen.

It was a call from the United States Attorney’s Office.

He did not answer it.

He looked back up at Diane, his mouth opening slightly as if to speak.

But no sound came out.

The silence in the hallway was absolute, broken only by the steady hum of the building’s ventilation.

I watched his fingers tighten around his phone until his knuckles turned gray.

The elevator doors at the end of the hall dinged again.

Two men in dark suits stepped out, carrying leather portfolios.

One of them held a badge in his left hand.

The man with the badge did not look at me.