The silence after my words feels heavier than everything that came before.
Marcus is the first to react. He leans back slowly in his chair, staring at me like I just rearranged the entire board.
“Hold on,” he says. “You’re telling me Margaret Lawson… wasn’t helping Salazar?”
I don’t answer right away. Because the more I replay the video in my mind, the clearer it becomes.
Margaret walking into Adrian’s office.
Margaret saying Victor expected me to refuse.
Margaret saying she came prepared.
I shake my head slowly. “She knew what he was planning.”
Adrian watches me carefully. “Yes.”
“But she didn’t sound like someone following orders.”
Marcus frowns. “She literally referenced Victor.”
“Yes. But listen to the way she said it.”
I look back at the paused screen on the tablet. At Mar
