The drive back from the industrial district was quieter than the journey there.
Nobody seemed willing to admit it, but the discovery inside the factory had changed the atmosphere completely. Before, they had been chasing Victor. Now, they were chasing something much older, something that had existed before Victor had become the man they knew.
Noah sat in the back seat beside Aiden, his father's photograph resting carefully inside an evidence sleeve between them.
He hadn't looked at it for nearly twenty minutes.
That didn't mean he had stopped thinking about it.
Aiden watched him from the corner of his eye.
"You've been staring at the same street for five minutes."
"I'm thinking."
"About your father?"
Noah nodded.
"And Victor."
Another nod.
Aiden hesitated.
"And the message?"
Noah finally looked at him.
"The one telling me to question the person closest to me."
Aiden's expression became serious.
"Do you believe it?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
