The agent in gray removed a small transparent bag from the evidence folder.
Inside it was a brass key with a pale blue plastic tag.
Evan’s shoulders dropped.
“That is my desk key.”
“Recovered from Mrs.
Whitaker’s evening bag,” the agent said.
Lauren spun around.
“You searched my purse?”
“You consented at the entrance when security identified a prohibited electronic signal.”
“I thought you were checking for weapons.”
“We were checking for anything that threatened the people in this room.”
Lauren looked at me with open hatred.
“You planned this.”
“No,” I said.
“I planned to determine where the leak was coming from.
You chose to bring the transmitter here.”
Matt suddenly moved.
He did not run toward the exit.
That would have been too obvious.
He reached for the water glass near his plate, knocked it into the agent behind him, and lunged toward a leather messenger bag under the table.
The agent caught his wrist before he touched it.
Two nearby guests screamed.
Chairs scraped.
Matt cursed and tried to pull free, but the second agent crossed the room and forced his hands behind his back without striking him.
“Do not open that bag,” I said.
The room fell quiet again.
The agent in gray crouched beside it.
He photographed the clasp, put on gloves, and opened it slowly.
Inside were two phones, a laptop, several envelopes, and a slim silver drive.
Lauren made a sound that was almost a sob.
Evan heard it.
“You knew that was there.”
“No.”
“You reacted before he opened it.”
“Because this is terrifying.”
Matt twisted in the agents’ grip.
“Lauren, do not say anything.”
Her head snapped toward him.
The entire ballroom heard the warning.
My father closed his eyes.
The lead agent removed one of the envelopes.
It had no address, only a handwritten number on the front.
Inside were bands of cash.
Matt’s wife stepped backward.
Her face crumpled.
“You told me the consulting work had finally paid.”
Matt stared at the carpet.
The agent lifted the silver drive.
“This device matches the hardware signature of the downloads from Commander Whitaker’s account,” he said.
Lauren’s composure finally cracked.
“He told me it was not dangerous.”
Matt shouted her name.
She covered her mouth.
There it was.
Not a full confession, but the first fracture in the wall.
Evan stared at his wife.
