Julian stayed for nearly another half hour. After the call with his father, some of his earlier confidence had faded, but every time Elena asked about Northstar, he repeated that it was only a matter of giving Marcus time to respond. He spoke so naturally, even volunteering several examples of medical finance projects Crestfall and Northstar had participated in together, that the story sounded increasingly believable.
Zeyan stood by the window for most of that time and barely joined the conversation. Elena knew he was still thinking about what had happened at Ashbourne, but she did not want to bring it up again herself. Her body hurt, her mind was exhausted, and all she needed was an official document before tomorrow’s deadline—something sufficient to stop Reginald from continuing to use
