y of the death certificate Nix had left for her clutched in her hand. T

as wrong. D

the local police department. For a man of Kieran Roman

e for herself. The master bedroom. There had to

e grand staircase and placed

rble, a jarring blast of static cra

mournful chorus of "Dies Irae" thundering from dozens of hidden speakers at once. The sound was a p

y degrees. The house was no longer a home; it was a tomb, a cathedral of manufactured grief. Faintly

f the stairs, holding an iPad. He loo

le over the music. "What are you doing? I want to

ad's screen. The volume lower

d, his voice cutting through the choral musi

ing with a mixture of fear and anger. "I nee

stalking its prey. He didn't stop until he had backed her up against the c

s. Roman?" he murmured, his voice a low, dangerou

stole the air from her lungs. She could on

t you stop asking questions you don't want the answe

taircase. He pressed a hidden button, and a section of the wall swung inward, revealing a heavy,

ing out, and sat on the cold floor, th

to a room that looked like something out of a spy movie. Banks of servers hummed quie

sat in a high-tech gaming chair, munching on

from the screens, pointing a chip at the monitor that showed Chlo

other's hand and tossed it into the trash. H

movem

he main screen. "Arthur Hayes. He's been shorting Roman Group stock for the past forty-ei

ieran said, a flicker of

hole charade? Why not just throw his little spy

"Because I don't just want to ruin him, Leo. I want to use his

g onto the sofa. "She's a hell of an actress, I'll give her that. But

of her in the dark room, swinging that letter o

an said, his voice h

atever you say. By the way, the audio sens

und came from the speakers. It wa

." she'd whispered, f

the console. Lucy. The sister. The on

osed to be a simple piece in his game of revenge. She was slowly, painfully, getting to her feet. His expr