The screen filled with documents. “And these,” Elena said, clicking on an audio folder. “Recordings of phone conversations. Marko started recording them a few months ago.”
She double-clicked on the first file. Dr. Radic’s voice came through the laptop speakers.“Leonid, I need to understandsomething. The children in the test villages—some of them are getting sicker, not better. The neurological symptoms are getting worse.”
“Marko, my friend, you’re overthinking this.”Volkov’s voice. Chloe recognized the accent.“Field testing has variables. Some populations respond differently to enhanced nutritional supplements.”
“But the death reports?—”
“Are unreliable. These are remote areas with limited medical facilities. Natural deaths from malnutrition can present in many ways.”
“This isn’t malnutrition, Leonid. This is alkaloid poisoning. The nightshade compounds—we could be giving them toxic doses.”
Pause.When Volkov spoke again, his voice had lost all warmth.“Marko, you need to trust the process. We’re developing something that will revolutionize refugee care. If you can’t see the bigger picture?—”
“What bigger picture? Children could be dying!”
“Children die anyway in refugee situations. At least this way, their deaths serve a purpose.”
Chloe’s stomach lurched, and she glanced at Skeet.
His mouth made a grim line, his jaw tight. He wore a look that reminded her of Jake, back when he served in the military.
Back when he didn’t talk about what he did when he left.
Elena stopped the recording. “The casual dismissal of children’s lives—that was what my husband discovered. And he was going to expose it. That’s why he was killed,” she said softly.
“There are twelve more files. I haven’t listened to them all, but Marko said that by the end, Volkov wasn’t even pretending the research was humanitarian.”
“When was that last recording?”
“Four days ago. The day before Marko was supposed to fly to Bangkok for the conference. I remember they got into a big fight. Marko was shouting all the way across the house.”
“About what?” Skeet asked.
“I just remember Marko saying something about not accelerating the timeline.”
Silence.
“What does that mean?” Chloe said.
Skeet pulled up his phone. Looked at Elena. “Can you transfer all of these files to us?”
“Already done.” She handed him a small flash drive. “Everything is on here. But please—promise me you’ll make sure the world knows what Marko died trying to do. He just wanted to help people.”
“We promise,” Chloe said. “But you need to understand—if Volkov is willing to kill your husband to protect this operation, you might be in danger too.”
Chloe’s phone buzzed. Skeet’s number, texting from his own phone even though he was sitting right beside her. She glanced down at the message.
Skeet
Check the time. Resort meeting starts tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow afternoon.
They needed another seven hours to get back to Bangkok, then time to plan their approach to the resort. Time was running out.
“Elena, we have to go. But first—is there somewhere safe you can stay? Somewhere Volkov’s people won’t think to look?”
“My sister has a house in Chiang Rai. Remote, private. The children and I can go there.”