Jeremy's POV
It is plain now that my client does not know my wife. Matthew Wang looked at Claire like she was exactly what she appeared to be- a stranger to him. A kind woman with careful eyes and warm hands, someone who bakes pies and worries about tea temperature. There was no flicker of recognition, no tightening of instinct, no sign that he connected her to anything adjacent to his whistleblowing or to the names that live in sealed files and unmarked folders. He does not know Ethan Dane.
I lie awake long after Clair is asleep, thinking.
Ethan Dane did not send Claire to entice me. That should calm me. Professionally, it does, but personally, it does the opposite. Because the absence of connection forces me to look elsewhere, and where my thoughts land makes my jaw lock hard enough t
