Taya had some understanding of Griffon’s methods, but she didn’t want to dwell on it and simply continued, “Maybe he left Washington.” Neil didn’t care about this and just replied to her with “bye” before hanging up the phone. As soon as Taya exited the contact list interface, Harper called her on video.

Taya answered the call and saw Harper was holding a cigarette in one hand and her phone in the other, leaning against a bar in the video. “Taya, you’ve been in Washington for over half a month. Do you miss me?” Harper asked with a grin. “Of course,” Taya replied with a smile, noticing the cigarette in...