Dr. Vance put his glasses back on, his eyes small and sharp.

“She was snooping in archives that do not concern her, Ethan,” Vance said.

“She is a cleaner,” Ethan said, his voice flat. “She cleans the offices. It is her job.”

“She is looking for things she shouldn’t,” Daniel snapped.

Daniel stepped closer to Ethan, his eyes flashing.

“You need to fire her,” Daniel said. “Right now. Tonight.”

“I do not fire staff without cause, Daniel,” Ethan said.

“I’ll give you a cause,” Daniel said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper that carried up the stairs.

“We are forty-eight hours away from closing the Lake Forest expansion,” Daniel said.

“What does Grace have to do with the expansion?” Ethan asked.

“Dr. Vance is our lead investor,” Daniel said.

I held my breath, my fingers gripping the wooden railing.

“He is putting twelve million dollars into the new development group,” Daniel said.

“He wants discretion, Ethan.”

“If his name is dragged into some paranoid fantasy about your wife’s death, he pulls out.”

“And if he pulls out, the whole deal collapses.”