Ariana had barely stepped out when Hans went straight into his usual daily briefing for Andres.
"James Shepherd got an official transfer order. Once he finishes handing off his current workload, he'll be posted out of state next month."
"He's already figured the move has something to do with the White family. He tried to work Molly Sullivan from the side."
"He wanted her to leverage her ties to your family to get the order reversed—but it went nowhere."
Andres fed Lucifer a frozen mouse.
Then he looked up. "Where are they sending him?"
Hans named the place.
Andres laughed softly. "Hugh doesn't waste time."
"Send him to a godforsaken backwater like that, and he'll never make it back to Aethelburg for the rest of his life."
Hans nodded. "James is the most promising one of the Shepherds' younger generation."
"With him gone, that family's basically done."
Andres's fingers drifted along Lucifer's cold, sleek body. "Molly still causing trouble?"
Hans answered honestly. "She tried to break through with your mother. Three visits in a row, and your mother turned her away—politely, but firmly."
Andres's expression didn't change. "My mom has never liked Molly."
"Perfect. We'll use this opportunity to clean out everyone who's been an eyesore."
Then, after a moment's thought, he asked, "Any news on him?"
It took Hans a second to catch up. "You mean… your mentor, Mr. Andres?"
Andres gave a low, humorless sound. "He never once admitted I was his student."
Years ago, when Andres had been living around South Africa, he'd crossed paths with someone extraordinary.
The man had taught him a great deal—skills, methods, ways of thinking—and left him with a web of connections that had opened doors all over the world.
The strangest part was this: from the day he appeared to the day he vanished, he never gave Andres even a name.
When he left, all he did was toss Andres a note:
"If fate allows, we'll meet again."
For years Andres had been searching in the shadows for any trace of him.
Every lead collapsed into the same dead end: no such person.
Andres's urgency wasn't random. Everything he was doing—every thread he tugged—was for Maeve.
Maeve had put herself in danger again and again to draw Griffin out.
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