ELENA POV
Three days after Adrien approached me at the café, Damien had answers.
"He's legitimate," Damien said, dropping a folder on our small table. His tone was grudging, like admitting it physically hurt. "Adrien Laurent. Born in Washington DC, thirty-four years old. Yale Law, top of his class. Worked at the International Criminal Court for five years, then went independent."
I picked up the folder, scanning the pages. Photos of Adrien at various legal conferences. Court documents with his name. Articles he'd written about international corruption cases.
"He's won three major cases against corrupt officials," Damien continued. "A senator from Brazil. A defense minister from Ukraine. A pharmaceutical CEO who was bribing regulators across Europe. He's the real deal."
"So why does he want to help us?"
