“No,” I replied. “Julian, my mother-in-law Evelyn, and my daughter left for the airport four hours ago. Julian took my phone and passport. Evelyn canceled my return flight yesterday afternoon. They left me with nothing. I’m standing barefoot in the lobby.”
A heavy, dangerous silence filled the line.
Martin’s tone dropped an octave, dripping with cold, corporate lethality. “They stole sovereign identification documents from a senior risk auditor working on active global compliance files?”
“Yes.”
“Julian Vance just committed a federal crime while stranding an operative carrying proprietary corporate audit data,” Martin said smoothly. “He thinks he left an isolated orphan in a beach resort. He doesn’t realize he just activated a corporate security escalation.”
I closed my eyes, a long, trembling breath escaping my chest.
“Here is what happens now, Nora,” Martin instructed. “A secure courier from our regional embassy liaison in Bangkok is already being dispatched to your location. Within ninety minutes, a representative will arrive at your hotel lobby with an emergency provisional passport, an encrypted satellite phone, and two thousand dollars in local currency.”
