Chapter Three: The Dead Woman in the Ring

Mira pressed her earpiece. Outside, the romantic montage on the ballroom screen changed after thirty seconds to parking-garage footage. Howard’s driver was loading unlabeled drugs into the bridal car. Jo had pulled the live backup from the hotel system. Howard rushed for the controls. Adrian blocked him. “Chairman Gu dislikes people touching his property,” Howard said under his breath. “Evelyn is not property,” Adrian replied. “And you no longer work for Gu.” When police arrived, Evelyn surrendered the unsigned will and weeks of suspicious medical reports. As Howard was led away, he looked back at Mira. “You think saving her changes the future?” His smile was strange. “You see only what fate permits.” “What does 0716 mean?” Mira asked.