The curtains slit open at her gentle tug, while the race in her heart mimicked a horse in full gallop. Closing one eye she peered into the driveway. Her shoulders dropped with relief. It was only a car pulling in long enough to turn around. It took her a few minutes to recover. As she slipped back across the room, it left her feeling, even more, need to be cautious. In an instant, she thought of plan B in the event if Ethan did come back while she snuck around. Her heart stopped racing and she resumed the mission.

"I can't believe that I'm married to an international spy," she said, shaking her head. "How could I not see any of this coming?" She was the one that helped him to start Gray Enterprises. She'd been the voice that edged him on, that had encouraged his path. He used to say things like I passed a test and now have this clearance or that clearance. It had gone clear over her head. It was hard to wrap her mind around the sweet guy that she loved was stealth, lethal agent. She gripped her head knowing that she had to focus.

Zara strode down the hall to Ethan's office. The lock was on as always, but members of T-30 gave her a crash course in picking locks. Zara's heart pounded in her chest, and her hands were perspiring in the gloves. After a few attempts, she heard the door click open. Roman's words burned in her head – 'in and out, act like you only have one minute to get what you need.'"

Sharp eyes observed the desk, looking for dust. She paid very detailed attention to where the keyboard was, paper clips, and the rest of the elements on the desk. An ink pen rolled from her movement. Zara put it back near the edge of the desk, looking for its dust print and found it. She tried not to move anything, unless necessary. Her heart thudded against her chest, and her throat was dry as burnt embers.

She flipped on the computer. In a few moments, the monitor came on. Chill swept down her spine knowing that she'd broken into Ethan's sacred space. He never allowed her in that room. Zara zipped through files until she came to something that looked related.

"Ledgers." She tapped the file and saw all types of information on payments made to people. Some of the names on the files were notable. It was at least 100 of them. She didn't have time to read everything. She shoved the thumb drive into the computer and downloaded the file.

There were many other files that Zara copied onto the drive, in flash speed. When she was getting ready to turn off the computer she saw a file named Z.P. Her heart slammed against her chest. Zara clicked the file and scanned the content. Her blood turned to ice.

***

Roman shouted when his feet touched Georgian soil. He and certain members of T-30 piled into vans and headed for Zara's house. They arrived 25 minutes later and basic operations fell in place within the hour. Some of T-5 got left to monitors things at the headquarters in New York. Zara's living room became high tech surveillance. Computers, monitors, and every technological gadget you could imagine beeped and buzzed to life. They connected to the remote system that Trevor and his team had set up. He could now see inside the villa.

Roman scrolled through the home looking for Zara. "Wow," he said, admiring how magnificent the living arrangements were. The structure was massive and had large bedrooms all decorated in rustic décor. A west-facing library that looked stunning as the sun went down. Everything was beyond lavish. This guy has some long, long cash. Stolen from the lives of desperate professional women. It's awful, just awful.

His heart thudded not finding her. Trevor had spoken with them not long ago and said that she had made it out of Ethan's office, safe. Had he come back when she was locking the door? Panic slithered down his back and knotted his stomach. Scanning deeper he found her. She knelt down, pounding the attic floor. Roman's heart stopped. Has he locked her in the attic? The stress on her face stabbed his heart. Why didn't I remind her to put her earrings on? He grabbed his cell and called her. She answered on the first ring. He heard her sniffling and it made his stomach twist.

"Treasure, what's the matter?"

"I will tell you what's wrong, Roe. Ethan had already sent a letter to Judge Tolliver. You know that crooked judge that you told me about."

"Shit."

"Ethan told her that I would be entering her court system soon - right after the baby was born."

Tears slipped from Zara's red-rims as she shared the information. After a quick wipe to the eyes, she slipped her hand in the back pocket and pulled out the letter. They had planned to take her child right after birth, not giving her the customary year afforded to others. Because Judge Tolliver knew of Zara's work she demanded more money for setting things up. According to Tolliver, Zara was the most valuable of all the women up to this point. The dehumanizing way that they spoke made her stomach bottom out. "Listen to this," she choked out. Her hands shook as she read the letter.

Look, Russo, once people find out who is involved, the media is going to be all over this with a bunch of sympathetic people coming to Zara's defense. We can't give her the customary year as we've done with the others. We have to get the child as soon as it's born and get matters hushed as quickly as possible. A year will only draw more sympathy from the public. Look, I've got this. Once Zara is in my court I will make sure that the charges stick. You need to hold up your end and get her into my hands. I don't care how you do it this time. You messed up on the last woman that we set up and you know the results cost us dearly. In this case, because of who she is we really need to stick with the plan and get this wrapped up. Three months, Russo. Three months after that baby is born I want her in my court. That means this get's kicked off yesterday. We need to discuss money like I said before what you're offering for this case is way not enough.

"This is my life they're talking about. It's like I'm a piece of trash to be tossed. Who does this kind of sick stuff?"

"I'm so sorry. But I'm here. I'm right here, Zara. We'll get through this."

"What-what-do you mean, you're right here?"

"I see you in the attic."

Zara gasped, looking around the attic for anything that looked like a video camera. There was nothing in sight. A bright smile replaced the frown on her face. It was as if a weight lifted from her shoulders. Then she laughed.

"I see and hear everything. But you can't talk to me unless you call. It's set up for one-way communications. Everything gets recorded." He watched Zara's face light up. She looked so comforted. "Now, why are you in the attic?"

"I found a file on his computer that was a ledger, but it only went back a year. I wanted to see if he did what most people would do with old files – store things in the attic. He did. He's got at least another year of ledgers and other files that seem to relate to this – hospital files, doctors, women's names."

"Looks like you hit the jackpot. I'll have Trevor pull those files and replace them with blank paper." Roman felt his heart warm up. "I'm so proud of you."

Before he could say anything else his cell phone flashed his sister in law's, Ella's number. The sight of her name troubled him. He hadn't heard from their family in five years. Could there be a worst time for this call? The hacking cough riddled with wheezing alarmed Zara.

"Are you okay, Roe?" The long pause made her skin tingle. She called to him. "Roe?"

"I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'm fine. I'll call you right back. You need to close things up and hurry down from the attic. There is an Amazon truck pulling into your driveway." The hacking didn't subside.

"You don't sound good."

"I'm fine. I promise and you're doing great. Love you."

***

Zara scampered out of the attic. She made it to the front door, and a few minutes later she saw the lights from the truck heading down the long driveway. Peering out the window, she watched the deliveryman park the truck. He got out and opened the back door panels. He retrieved a large red box and walked to the door. She startled him by opening the door before he rang the bell.

"Good evening, ma'am, this is for Miss Zara Peters. Can I get you to sign here?"

Zara thanked the gentleman, took the electronic pen, and signed on the pad. She lifted the box from his hand and carried it to the counter. Grabbing a knife, she cut through the tape and opened the box. Zara stepped back – grimacing. She slung the box across the room spilling the contents on the floor. "Damn him."