“If you go to the press, or the police, with those medical records,” Daniel said, “an anonymous tip will be filed. By tomorrow night, those children will be in state custody, and the board will vote to remove you as CEO.”

The call went dead, leaving only the sound of the rain.

The dial tone hummed in the quiet room.

Ethan did not lower the phone.

His knuckles were white against the black plastic casing of the receiver.

The rain beat hard against the high arched windows of the library, a relentless tapping that sounded like fingers on the glass.

“Ethan,” I said softly.

He did not look at me.

He slowly set the receiver back on its cradle, his movements stiff and deliberate.

His hand remained on the phone, trembling slightly before he pulled it away and tucked it into his pocket.

“He has people everywhere,” Ethan said.

His voice was barely a whisper, flat and devoid of the anger he had shown moments before.

“He has the board, he has the lawyers, and now he has this.”

I stepped closer to the heavy mahogany desk.