“Yes,” Hector said. “He was trying to leave through the back woods. He had a metal lockbox with him.”

“Did you get the box?” Alvaro asked.

“Yes,” Hector said. “We have the box. And we have him.”

Alvaro let out a long, ragged breath.

He sat back down in his chair, his fingers tracing the edge of his keyboard.

“Is he talking?” Alvaro asked.

“Not yet,” Hector said. “But he will.”

Alvaro looked back at the email on his screen.

“She wants the entire firm, Hector,” Alvaro said. “She wants me to sign the transfer.”

“Do not sign it,” Hector said. “If we have the assistant, we can find her. He knows where she is.”

“We have forty-five minutes,” Alvaro said, looking at the countdown timer I had embedded in the email.

“It is enough time,” Hector said. “Let me call the team in Segovia.”

Alvaro nodded once.

Hector turned and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

I closed the browser tab.

The screen returned to the black desktop background.

“They have Matthew,” Lucía whispered.