Callahan stood up, gathering his folders. “Step outside, Mr. Thorne.
We’re concluding the intake interview.”
Silas turned toward the door. As Callahan reached for the doorknob, Silas glanced back over his shoulder.
The grief vanished from his face.
For one single, crystalline second, he smiled at me—a razor-sharp, mocking baring of teeth that told me everything I needed to know.
Before the door clicked shut, Callahan’s desk phone on the wall chirped with an urgent high-priority tone.
The detective answered, listened for three seconds, and his weathered face went completely slack.
Callahan turned slowly to look at me, his hand tightening around the receiver.
“Mrs. Vance,” Callahan whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief. “The automated wire clearinghouse just flagged an emergency transaction. Twelve minutes ago, an unauthorized transfer of **one point five billion dollars** from Vance Holdings’ primary treasury was executed to an offshore entity in Nevis.”
