Page 296 of Black Reign

“This is bigger than you.”

“Then you should be particularly interested in why armed men knew Adrien Beaumont had a daughter.”

His expression shifts.

“And why they knew about a second key.”

Silence.

There.

Again.

The microexpression.

Too fast for most people.

Not for me.

“You know what that is.”

“I know the phrase.”

“What does it mean?”

“This is not the time.”

“It became the time when men tied her to a chair and demanded it.”

My father looks away.

One second.

Maybe two.

When he looks back, the fury has been replaced by caution.

Much more useful.

“Who questioned her?”

“She doesn't know.”

“Nationality?”

“Possibly Eastern European.”

“Russian?”

“Maybe Ukrainian. Maybe neither.”

“Names?”

“Nothing verified.”

“And you think this somehow absolves her?”

“No. I think it proves there is another player.”