"Now it's clear," Aria said quietly. "The mastermind did not just watch you, Marcus. They built you."
Marcus did not answer immediately because the weight of that truth was still settling in.
"What are you going to do about Judge Harrison?" Marcus asked.
"Continue surveillance and build a case," Clarke said. "But it will take time, because judges have protections, and we cannot move without absolute certainty."
The call ended.
"A federal judge protecting Marcus's company," Dmitri said, and his voice was flat. "That is not a coincidence."
"No," Marcus agreed. "It is a strategy, because the mastermind positioned someone to make sure I stayed successful, kept buying art, and kept being useful."
"Until they were ready to destroy you," Aria finished.
Viktor's computer beeped. "I have more fragments, communications about payments, and instructions to various operatives."
He pulled up the partially decrypted text.
