Chapter 97

Peter Brown’s invitation finally arrived. Just as Maria was thinking of a way to get James to take her along, he beat her to it—calling her into his office and casually sliding the invite across the desk. “Come to the party with me the day after tomorrow.” Well, that saved her a lot of trouble. Maria held back a smile and responded like it was no big deal, “Sure.” Later at home, Ryan Fox called. “Noah has to go with you. Non-negotiable.” “Why?” Maria frowned, confused. Shadowglint had never pushed her like this—why now? “He was introduced by Lawrence. You know, the second-in-command. He’ll also be at Peter Brown’s party. He’s backing up Noah. Orders straight from the top,” Ryan said. Maria had heard of Lawrence before. Ryan had mentioned he was related to the founder, always nice to the agents, and definitely the most approachable higher-up in Shadowglint. If even Lawrence had stepped in, Maria knew she couldn’t argue. “The party’s the day after tomorrow. Do I need to meet Noah before