"And you happened to recognize where she lives?"
"I looked up a contact address. I didn't want it to disappear between offices."
Linda folded her arms. "People don't find fifty thousand dollars and walk it across the city because they're nice. What are you actually looking for?"
Daniel's expression changed only slightly. "I'm looking to give it back."
Linda opened her mouth to answer, but the sound of footsteps interrupted her. Victoria had come down the main staircase in the charcoal suit she had worn all day, her dark hair loosened at the temples and the color in her face diminished by exhaustion. She paused when she saw the stranger in the doorway, then looked at the bag he carried. Daniel stepped forward only when Marcus moved aside.
"You might be looking for this," he said.
Victoria took the wallet as carefully as if it might disappear when she touched it. She checked the cash, the cards, and the passport because those were the things Ethan had asked her to inventory. Then her thumb found the small inner pocket, and she felt the shape of the ring before she saw it. She pressed her fingers against the leather and closed her eyes for one brief moment, forgetting the guard, her deputy, her assistant, and the man who had brought it back.
"It's here," she whispered.
Daniel understood which thing she meant. He had seen the photograph and the matching ring, but he did not tell her so. He stepped back toward the doorway, giving her the privacy the room itself did not offer. Ethan watched her expression with surprise, recognizing a kind of relief he had never seen cross her face after a successful acquisition.
"Every dollar?" Linda asked, still studying Daniel.
Victoria counted again, partly to answer and partly because she needed an ordinary task to steady herself. The sum was complete. She looked at Daniel as if he were a problem no one had prepared her to solve. "I don't know how to thank you," she said.
He shifted the paper bag under his arm. "You don't need to. I figured you'd want it back."
Victoria turned to Ethan. "Please write him a check for one hundred thousand dollars. From my personal account. We can have it prepared before he leaves."
Daniel shook his head before Ethan had even moved. "No, thank you."
"That's twice what was inside," Victoria said, as though clarification might help. "You went out of your way in the rain. You deserve something for that."
"I didn't return it because I expected payment."
Linda gave a quiet, disbelieving breath. Victoria ignored her and studied Daniel more closely. "People usually want something from me," she said. It was more honest than she had intended, and Ethan glanced toward the floor in the hope of giving her a little room to regret it.