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Fiona nodded, then closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, calming herself. When she opened her eyes a moment later, she looked directly at Levi. “Jim stayed late at the office for a board meeting. He left around eight o’clock. The security tape shows him walking to his car and then staggering a little and collapsing before he could open the door. There was no audio, but the other board members said they didn’t hear anything—the police think the gunman used a silencer. When they reached him, he was already dead. He was shot in the heart. The police said he died instantly.”
I forced myself to stay calm. If Fiona could be brave enough to tell us the story, I needed to listen without giving in to my emotions.
“Any information about the assailant’s vehicle?” Ash asked.
“They traced it to a rental place, but the car was rented under a fake name and just led to a dead end.”
“Do you have any idea who’s behind this?” Ash asked.
Fiona looked from me to Lauren. “It was Li Na Zhao. She…she threatened me a few weeks ago, saying that if I didn’t sell my company’s technology to her, she would make me sorry. I declined her offer. I went and spoke to Hannah and Lauren about it because it seemed like a direct threat. They agreed. But I never thought this would happen to Jim. I didn’t take any steps to protect him.” She winced and turned away, facing the fire instead.
“This isn’t your fault.” Lauren reached out and took Fiona’s hand. “Li Na doesn’t do what you’d expect, and no one could have prepared you for this. Have you…heard anything from her?”
“I got a letter from her lawyer. It was a proposal.”
“Was it from Petra Hickman?” Lauren asked. “I thought Li Na would have fired her.”
Petra had represented Li Na in her attempt to buy Paragon from Lauren. It hadn’t ended well.
Fiona shook her head. “No—it was from a business attorney in Cupertino. Someone I’ve never heard of. I didn’t respond.”
“I need that letter,” Levi said immediately. “Li Na hasn’t reached out to you directly or claimed any sort responsibility for your husband’s death?”
“No. She hasn’t. I wouldn’t expect her to—would you?”
“She was very straightforward when she kidnapped Hannah.” Lauren’s gaze flicked to me. “But that was different, I suppose.”
“Because Hannah was still alive.” Fiona’s voice was flat.
“Did you tell the police and the FBI about Li Na’s proposal and the timing of the correspondence from her attorney?” Ash asked, his voice gentle.
“Yes,” Fiona said. “But they didn’t think there was anything they could do. They need more evidence.”
Levi leaned forward. “We’ll come up with a plan to deal with Zhao—I promise you that. But we need to focus on your safety and your daughters’ safety. If you’re comfortable talking about what my company can do for you, I think we should.”
“Please. Go on.”
Fiona wrapped herself deeper into her blanket as Levi and Ash outlined the personal security services they could offer, along with what a Betts Security team could do at Protocol. I watched as Fiona listened carefully, asking pertinent questions and assimilating the information. Even in her grief, she was alert and astute.
“When the girls go back to school, how would that work with personal security agents?”
“That’s the most important thing.” Ash nodded. “We can talk to the school administration—we’ve handled situations like this before. Our goal is to keep the child safe at all times, while minimizing the impact of having a security detail with them.”
They kept talking while my mind wandered to Katie and Quinn. Their two little faces, puffy from crying, and the way they clung to their stuffed animals. I dug my fingernails into my palms to stop the tears. Those poor little things, having their father taken from them like this…
I hugged Fiona fiercely before we left, promising to see her at the service tomorrow. On the ride home, as Levi and Ash discussed the logistics of their new security assignment, Lauren looked at me with concern. “You’re awfully quiet.”
I looked out the window, away from her. “It was the girls.”
She reached over and took my hand in hers. “I know. It’s terrible to see them suffer like that. They’re innocent.”
“I just don’t understand. I mean, I don’t understand any of what she’s done.”
“Who?”
“Li Na.” I pulled my hand away. “I don’t understand how she could have Jim killed just because she wants in on Protocol Therapeutics’s profit margin.”
“But that’s not all she wants,” Lauren said. “She wants what comes with that—the notoriety, the importance. Gabe has a whole theory about her.”
