Page 56 of The Silent Hour

That was the answer I wanted. Not bravado or promises.

Something we could actually use. Katerina closed the file she'd been reading, pressing it flat with two fingers before setting it aside.

"If we take him, this will not stay one case for long." Her Russian cadence sharpened the warning.

“Well aware,” I replied as I looked around the table. Knox with his shoe still hooked over his knee. Rafa's arms still folded. Serena's pen hovering. "Which is why nobody commits to anything today. I'm meeting Cortez. That's it. We find out why he's replacing counsel, what he actually expects from us, and whether taking him creates more exposure than it's worth."

"If it moves forward?" my sister asked.

"Then you and Caleb start mapping the indictment. Jurisdiction, timelines, discovery gaps, anything the government rushed."

Caleb was already typing, his eyes not leaving the screen. Rafa leaned forward, forearms on the marble.

"And if Cortez doesn't consider no an acceptable answer?"

I looked at him steadily. "Then today I find out whether Dominic Cortez is looking for representation or ownership."

The last of the room's levity left through whatever crack it could find. Exactly where I wanted it. A few minutes later, chairs scraped back, and the meeting broke apart.

Katerina snapped her folder shut and rose. "I'll meet you downstairs at eleven fifteen."

"Eric's coming too."

She nodded once, already moving, following Caleb who was already halfway through the door, notebook tucked beneath one arm, jacket slightly askew.

Knox called after him, "Fantastic meeting, Caleb. Always enjoy the warmth."

Caleb stopped in the doorway. Turned, one hand still on the frame. "I contributed four times."

Then he left. Rafa stared after him, something almost paternal crossing his face. "I fucking love that guy."

Despite myself, I laughed. Serena waited until the door clicked shut then focused her full attention on me.

"What did Julia say?"

"Meet Cortez first. Find out what he's really asking us to step into. Then decide."

Rafa nodded slowly, but before he could speak, ,my phone buzzed and my father’s name flashed across the screen. I answered and put him on speaker.

"Figlio mio." My father's warm baritone filled the room. "I hear Ruiz is moving smoother than expected. Saint hasn’t intervened yet so that is a good sign."

Saint Ruiz, the heir and all around pain in my fucking ass son of Ruiz Senior. He always had an opinion and there’d been a few times early on I wanted to tell him since he knew everything, why didn’t he go to law school?

"So far,” I replied simply.

"Good, but Ruiz isn't why I'm calling."

The remaining conversation in the room died. "I've been asking about Cortez since you brought him."

I straightened. "You're on speaker. Serena's here."

"Principessa,” he greeted warmly.

"Morning, Papà. What can you tell us?”

"I know Cortez in passing. Enough to tell you that man does not send his family knocking on another lawyer's door unless the ground beneath him is collapsing. My people are still asking questions," he continued. "Until I know more, assume he's already inside your house.”

That was the kind of cryptic shit my father enjoyed saying when he wanted everyone in a room paranoid. I needed information.