James left town the next day. Axel confirmed it, watching the black town car pull away from the Riverdale Inn, headed for the interstate.
“Think he’s given up?” Valentina asked Duke over dinner at his apartment, where she’d been staying since the confrontation.
Duke shook his head. “Men like Porter don’t give up. They retreat, regroup.”
“Great. So I’ve bought time, not freedom.”
“Time is freedom.” Duke pushed his plate away. “And the lawyer’s making progress with the SEC. Says he can prove the accounts were opened without your knowledge.”
Relief washed through her. “How?”
“Something about signature verification. IP addresses. Technical stuff.” Duke shrugged. “The important thing is, Porter’s not as clever as he thinks.”
Valentina let that sink in. James wasn’t infallible. He could b
