She doesn’t name them. She doesn’t need to.
Then there’s a sound—she’s moving.
“Elena,” Brie says on the recording. Her voice sharpens. “Don’t.”
“I won’t rot in a cell,” Elena replies. Not afraid. Resolute.
There’s a pause, and when Elena speaks again, it’s with deliberate clarity.
“Tell Alicia Morgan she knows too much.”
Blood rushes in my ears, but I don’t look away from the laptop.
“Tell her the network remembers its friends—and its enemies.”
The recording captures movement now.
“Oh,” Elena adds, almost casually. “And your little company. KOAN.”
Her tone shifts—almost amused.
“They’re being watched. The Moores… Tell them they’re making enemies.”
Brie’s voice cuts in again—firm, urgent—but the moment fractures.
An unmistakable gunshot. Flat. Final.
Brie stops the audio before the chaos that follows spills into my office.
Silence settles, thick and oppressive.
Agent Turner speaks first. “That statement is now evidence. Whether she was exaggerating or not, it exists in the record.”
I lean back in my chair, every instinct urging me to compartmentalize. “So I’m…what? A footnote?”
“A person of interest,” he corrects. “To people who don’t want their names spoken under oath.”
Brie meets my eyes. “We didn’t bring this to scare you.”
“No,” I say quietly. “You brought it so I would understand the stakes.” Elena Vasquez was the White House Chief of Staff. “I’ll likely be called in during any investigation, discovery, or congressional hearing.”
She nods once.
Agent Turner’s gaze flicks, briefly, to the framed photo on my desk—Stella at the beach, hair tangled by wind, smiling without reserve.
“Right now,” he says, “we don’t believe anyone will move overtly. That kind of attention draws scrutiny. But caution isn’t paranoia. It’s preparation.”
Brie picks up the evidence bag, returning it to her jacket. “The recording is in federal custody now. But Hudson wanted you to hear it directly. Dorian and Caroline Moore have been informed.”
Of course.
I close my laptop, the click decisive. “Thank you for letting me hear it.” I keep my voice level, professional.
Brie’s expression softens by a degree. “Call me if you need anything.”
They leave as efficiently as they arrived.
When the door closes, my office feels too quiet.