I settled into my desk and went through my backlog of emails. This would be one of the last times I sat here like this…but I refused to think about it, just like I refused to think about how terrible Hannah had looked this morning, and how Wesley was in danger.

I allowed myself to focus on my work for a few hours. I had to do something, and it was the only thing I’d ever been any good at.

When I finally looked up, my gaze automatically went to the windows and at the grounds below. This was one of my favorite views in the world, the acres of neatly manicured lawns glistening in the early morning dew. Soon, the property would be on the market. Another CEO with another vision would buy it and make it their home.

I didn’t know who I’d be without Paragon. It’d been my life’s dream for so long, I wasn’t sure where I ended and my company began.

Don’t think about it. Find a new dream to dream.

But this wasn’t the time to dream—I had to be laser-focused, to see this through to the end. I’d been excited when Gabe had offered to sell me his subsidiary company, but what was happening with Li Na, Hannah, and Wesley had me reeling, eclipsing all hope.

How could I focus on the future when I wasn’t sure if I, or the people I loved, even had one?

I pushed the thoughts from my mind. The image of my sister haunted me, but selfishly, it was Gabe I couldn’t extricate from my thoughts. What if I have to leave him? What if this week brings…the end of us?

My gaze wandered over my desk, coming to rest on the picture of my parents. I was glad they weren’t here to witness Hannah’s kidnapping. Still, my heart hurt looking at it—I missed them. When they died tragically, too young, my heart had broken. My parents were why I never wanted to fall in love in the first place. Who could bear another loss like that, when people you loved were taken from you?

But even though my heart ached with missing them, I knew they were still with me. Because that was what love did—it changed you forever. It marked you on the inside, making you grow stronger even as it made you vulnerable. Because loving somebody was brave. It was if once you took the leap to care about someone else, your heart muscles got stronger.

They had to—it was an evolve-or-die situation—because when you loved someone, your heart was walking around outside your body.

Or it was being held captive.

Or it was in a medically induced coma.

Or it was on the other side of the world, cursing you, because you’d left it to fulfill an unbearable duty.

I put my face in my hands, and Stephanie buzzed in, jolting me from my reverie. “Mimi White is here to see you.”

This surprised me. Mimi rarely dropped in. “Okay?”

Mimi nodded curtly as she came in, then sat across from me. She looked pulled together as usual, in a plum-colored blazer, her silver bob a sleek helmet. “I came to apologize.”

“For what?”

She shot me a look. “For calling Olivia, our United Kingdom distributor.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Mimi White had been the one to sell us out.

Mimi crossed and uncrossed her legs, looking as nervous as I’d ever seen her. “Before you say anything, let me explain myself. Paragon is important to me. My time on the board has been an honor.”

“Thank you for that.” I took a deep breath. “But you had no right to share the news—I told you it was confidential.”

“You did, and I went against your direct order.” Mimi pursed her lips. “I was trying to sabotage the sale.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I’d known Mimi for years. I couldn’t believe she’d betrayed me like this, in my hour of need. “It’s not your sale to sabotage.”

“I understand, but this technology isn’t Li Na Zhao’s to steal either.”

“That’s true, but it’s not the most important thing. Hannah’s safety is the most important thing.”

“I know what I did was wrong—and I admit, it’s not like me to be this reckless.” Mimi nodded tightly, her face turning red. “But the injustice of all this… I couldn’t tolerate it.”

I waited for her to collect herself and go on.

“Olivia’s a friend of my daughter’s from prep school. I thought if I could tell anyone, to try to do something about this, it should be her. But then she didn’t follow through, so I contacted some of the others.”

I put my face in my hands. If our partners were alerted about Paragon’s impending sale, there could be a backlash. I knew from reviewing the international contracts recently with Bethany that they were assignable; but I also knew that our distributors could opt out after a twelve-month period. No one was supposed to know about the sale yet. That might’ve made me a poor business partner, but I didn’t want to give any of them notice—any time to prepare to jump ship.

“I don’t understand why you did this—you know it could’ve compromised the sale. If Zhao hears that our partners are nervous about the transition, it could make her hesitate. I can’t afford that right now.”

“You have to understand that I would never do anything to hurt Hannah. I wasn’t thinking about that aspect.” She winced. “I was trying to stir up an international coalition to stop the sale. I don’t believe in negotiating with terrorists, Lauren. I’m sick about what’s happened to Clive Warren, your sister, to the security guards.”

“So am I—”

“I think giving in to Zhao is encouraging tactics like this—and I don’t want to do that. We can’t let the healthcare landscape be transformed into a war zone. If she’s allowed to get away with trade secret theft, kidnapping, and murder, what’s to stop others from doing the same? People will be too afraid to compete in this market. It will deter innovation.”

“I understand what you’re saying—”

“The older I get, the more I understand that it’s about the greater good.” Mimi clasped her hands tightly together in her lap. “We’re better than this—you’re better than this, and you deserve more than to see your company stolen out from underneath you. People need this innovation, Lauren. Your invention is going to help millions of people. We can’t just let it go.”

I couldn’t be angry with her, because I understood exactly how she felt. Still, I felt sick. Any compromises right now could put Hannah in even more danger.

“Mimi…I’ve always admired your principles and your strength. But you have to understand, this is my family. I agree with everything you’re saying—I am the last person who wants to see Paragon go out like this. But it’s my sister. It’s Hannah. And no other kind of loss compares to that. Do you understand?”

Her face softened. “Of course I do. I called Olivia and the others when I was too angry to consider the consequences. I had second thoughts as soon as I did—which is why I admitted to Allen that I was responsible. It’s also why I’m here. I’m so sorry.”

I nodded. “I know.”

“I believe you can bring civil charges against me for breach of my fiduciary duty to the board and to the company.” She jutted her chin. “It would probably make us both feel better if I was punished for what I did.”

“Mimi, I’m not going to do that.” Still, my stomach churned with nerves. Everything was stacked against Hannah right now. Any more false moves on our part, and she would be doomed.

“I hope you understand—I was trying to save what you’ve worked for. I’ve always believed that the patch would make the world a better place. I don’t want to see this happen…”

“No one does. We’re just doing the best we can with a terrible situation.”

Mimi nodded and stood to go. “Any news on Hannah or the security guard?”

“Nothing good.” I bit my lip.

“I’m sorry it’s come to this.”

“Me too. But we’re not done yet.” I forced myself to sound slightly upbeat, to give us both some hope. “I’m not giving up.”

Mimi nodded. “Good. The world needs you.”

As the silence settled back over my office, I wondered if that were true…and what, if anything, I could do about it.

* * *

GABE

“Look at this.” Ash fired up his laptop and opened a file in Dropbox. He played a short video, showing the white SUV pulling out of the garage. The driver’s face was visible for only a split second as he turned, backing the car out of the driveway. Ash paused the video.

“I’m feeling underwhelmed,” I said, but Levi motioned for me to shut up.

“Just wait.” Ash opened another file, the surveillance film from Lauren’s house on the night of the attack. He stopped when it showed the invaders leaving the house with Hannah in tow. He focused in on one of the men and opened a facial-recognition program. He placed the markers over the man’s face in the surveillance feed, then he did the same thing with the driver’s face.

The program beeped: it was a match.

“Told you!” Ash continued to manipulate the files, looking excited. “We use the same program the NSA uses.”

That beep wasn’t good enough for me. “Is this conclusive?”

“No,” Levi said immediately. “But it’s enough for us to set up full surveillance on the property. We need to find a place nearby to set up shop.”

Ash nodded. “I’ll get on it.” He pulled up the Airbnb website and immediately started scrolling through the Oakland listings.

Levi watched the screen. “The closing is soon—we have to confirm that this is where Hannah’s being kept. Ash, is there any update on the car rental?”

“Whoever rented it used one of those ‘special government liaison’ passports that you can get from Dominica for five hundred thousand dollars.” Ash didn’t look up from the screen. “Which just makes me feel more certain it’s them.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Levi cautioned.

“There’s nothing that would work on Airbnb—on to Craigslist,” Ash said, opening the other site.

Levi scowled. “Ew.”

“What’re you looking for?” I asked.

“A rental property nearby, one that we can take possession of immediately. There aren’t any hotels close enough—” Ash stopped and clapped his hands together. “Bingo—here’s a lovely, boxy condominium for rent, right in the same neighborhood.”

“Make sure you use a fake name to rent it, and pay cash.” Levi peered at the screen. “A lot of foreign investment companies own real estate around here—no one knows who the hell they actually are. I don’t want to give Li Na a heads-up that we’re moving into the neighborhood.”

I stood to go. “I need to let Lauren know what’s going on.”

“Of course,” Levi said. “We’ll brief her too. But tell her not to get her hopes up—not yet.”

Ash grinned at me as I climbed out of the van. “She can get her hopes up. I know what I’m doing.”

I heard Levi and him arguing about that, but I closed the door, shutting out the noise, anxious to get home. I couldn’t wait to tell Lauren that we finally had what appeared to be a viable lead.

* * *

She came home from Paragon, Timmy in tow, a few hours later.

“Babe.” I wrapped her in my arms and kissed the top of her head. “It’s so good to see you.”

Timmy cleared his throat. “I’ll just…leave you to it.” He hustled to the guesthouse.

Lauren poured us each a glass of wine and took a long sip. “Mimi White came to my office today. She’s the one who leaked the news of the sale to your distributors.”

“I know. Allen Trade called me earlier.” I studied her face, which was pale and tense. “How did it go?”

“She said she couldn’t bear to see us give in to terrorist tactics. She wanted to fight back.”

I rubbed her arm. “She has an activist streak, huh?”

“She’s probably right. I’m not helping with the big picture. I’m giving in to violence, which means I’m resetting the new normal to a very low place to conduct business.”

“I’ll say it again: it’s not your fault. What’re you going to do about Mimi?”

“She said I could bring a civil suit against her, but I declined. The only taste for revenge I have is the one I’m itching for with Li Na.” She raised her gaze to meet mine. “Is everything okay with the distributors? I can’t handle this deal blowing up right now. We’re so close.”

“I’ve got them all in line. It’s going to be okay.”

“Good.” She blew out a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“I have other news. My brothers found a lead.” I silently prayed that they were right—we needed this break. I reached out and took her hand. “They found a house in Oakland. They think it might be the guards who have Hannah.”

“How…?”

“Ash videotaped one of the guys, and he matched it to the surveillance feed from the night they broke into your house.”

“When you say matched—”

“I mean he used facial-recognition software. It was a match.”

Lauren opened her mouth, but no words came out for a moment.

“So she…she could be in Oakland?”

“Yes. But they’re not sure, not a hundred percent.” I wanted her to have hope, but I needed to keep her feet on the ground.

“So, what are we going to do? Have they contacted the FBI? Are we just going in there?”

“They need to be certain that these are the right people, and we need to be smart about the timing, for your sister’s sake. They’re going to rent a house in the neighborhood and set up surveillance. We’re working on it. They only have a couple of days, so they’re moving quickly—I promise.”

My phone buzzed with a text from Levi. Coming back to the house for a team meeting before we set up. “Okay. Everyone’s coming here to get ready.”

Lauren nodded, lost in her own thoughts. “I’ll have Bethany come too—just to keep her in the loop. We need to act like everything is going forward as planned.”

“Okay…and Lauren?”

She looked up.

There was no way in hell I’d let her go to Shenzhen, but every second we had together seemed precious. “I love you, babe.”

She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed my forehead. “I love you too.”

While we waited for everyone to arrive, Lauren and I checked our respective emails and paced. I called Dr. Kim to check in.

“Hey, Gabe.” He sounded out of breath.

“Did I get you at a bad time?”

“No,” he puffed, “I’m taking my break on the treadmill. I’m glad you called.”

“How is Wes?”

“Stable, but I’m still concerned. The tests show normal brain function, but this isn’t the type of thing you can ever call before the patient wakes up. I’m starting to worry about atrophy too. I need to make the call soon—I’d like to bring him out. I just hope this is the right time.”

“Does his heart seem better?”

“It’s tough to tell. It’s been functioning properly since the attack. There’s just a lot of things we don’t know the answer to right now.”

“Is his brother still there?” I asked.

“Ellis, yes—he hasn’t left Wesley’s side. I really think that helps. If you and Lauren can come back soon, please do. Wesley is tough, but he needs all the encouragement he can get.”

“Thanks, Dr. Kim. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Any changes?” Lauren asked when I hung up.

“No. He seems to be stable—the doctor said they’re thinking about waking him up.”

“We need to get Hannah back—Wesley needs her.”

I went and wrapped my arms around her. “I know. Hopefully, it’ll be soon.” For everyone’s sake.

Levi, Ash, and eight of their men showed up, followed shortly thereafter by Bethany. I called Timmy and had him join us too—he should know what was going on.

In case I asked him to lock Lauren in her room.

“What’s going on?” Bethany asked Lauren.

Lauren looked pale but excited as she sank down on the couch, waiting for Levi to start talking. “They might’ve found where Hannah’s being kept.”

“Okay,” Levi started. “Ash did some great work this week, tracking down a rental vehicle we suspected was being used by Zhao’s team. Ash followed it to a residential neighborhood in Oakland, only a few miles away from Langham Place—where the exchange ‘event’ occurred. The person who rented the SUV has a very expensive passport, the kind you buy when you need to stay anonymous. That’s not all. Ash was able to film the driver’s face, and he matched it to the face of one of the guards who abducted Hannah.”

“Matched how?” As usual, Bethany sounded skeptical.

“With the same facial-recognition software the NSA uses.” Levi bristled. “Is that okay with you?”

“Wow—yeah, that’s okay with me—it’s great.” Bethany smiled at him in approval. “Finally, some good news.”

Levi didn’t smile back, but he looked less annoyed. “We were able to locate a condo for rent in the neighborhood. One of our men is dealing with the transaction now. As soon as we can take possession, probably tonight, we’ll move our surveillance equipment in and start watching the house.”

“What’s the plan after that?” Lauren asked.

“If we can confirm Hannah is on the premises, we’ll go in. If not…we may wait until Friday to see if they bring her out. If they do, we’ll intercept them.”

“What if she’s not there?” Lauren asked. “What if this isn’t the same people?”

“Right now, it makes sense for us to concentrate our efforts on this location. We don’t have any other leads. If it turns out we’re wrong, we’ll deal with it at the closing.”

“Which means what, exactly?” Bethany was back to sounding unimpressed.

“It means if we have to, we’ll get Hannah at the law firm, and then we’ll intercept Lauren before she gets on a plane. We’ll come up with a more detailed plan for that later. Right now, we need to stay focused.”

I didn’t like the sound of that at all, but I kept my mouth shut. For the moment.

“Does anyone have any other questions?”

“Can I come with you to the site?” Lauren asked hopefully.

“Not right now,” Levi said. “You need to get Paragon ready. Zhao can’t have any idea that we’ve found a lead—we need the element of surprise.”

I stood up. “I’d like to go with you. I need to do something. If I sit around here and wait, I’ll go crazy.”

“That’s fine,” Levi said. “But please stay in the background, and let us do our job. If there’s something you can help with, I’ll tell you. I promise.”

“But nothing dangerous, right?” Lauren asked him. “Please?”

“Of course not,” Levi assured her.

I leaned down and kissed the top of Lauren’s head. “You don’t have to worry.”

“I need you to mean that.”

I stroked her cheek. “Of course I do. I love you. And you have enough to worry about—I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”

“Okay,” she said, but it sounded like a lie.