Darius did not answer immediately.
The clerk had stopped touching the controls. One of the guards asked her quietly to keep the connection and record together.
Darius noticed.
"Who are those men?"
"People making sure these files survive," Beatrice said.
His gaze shifted toward Rovan again.
"You should explain to her that this can be handled within the family."
Rovan's good hand tightened around the side of his coat.
Beatrice waited.
Alex had once put Rovan in her shop and ordered him to obey her. Beatrice kept her eyes on him now, waiting until he answered for himself.
"I can't explain away those payments," he said.
Darius's expression cooled.
"No one asked you to. You aren't involved in matters at that level."
"Then don't ask me to answer for them."
Rovan had gone pale. He stayed beside the counter while the silence stretched.
Darius turned back to Beatrice.
"We can return the house. Cancel the remaining charge. Your family has suffered enough."
