"I thought about the pension funds you raided," Aria said quietly. "The retirement savings of three hundred employees you embezzled to cover personal losses. The investors you defrauded. The people whose financial security you destroyed to protect your own."
The pleasantness dropped off Harold's face like a mask coming loose.
It was only for a second....a brief, unguarded moment where she saw what was underneath. Then the control returned, but it was thinner now, the pleasant surface not quite covering what was moving beneath it.
"Turn and look at the screen," he said.
"No."
"Aria." The pleasantness was entirely gone now, replaced with something flat and very cold. "I'm going to ask you once more. Turn and look at the screen."
She turned. Not because she was afraid....or not only because she was afraid ....but because understanding what he was doing, what he intended, was more useful than defiance for defiance's sake.
