Dante's grip on the phone tightened. He remembered now, the rumors that had circulated through Roman circles when the news broke. An industrial accident, the official story said. But he'd heard enough whispers to know it wasn't true. He'd even had his own suspicions about who was responsible, though he'd never had proof. He'd been scheduled to visit that facility himself, once, on a matter of business with one of the previous directors, a meeting that got cancelled two weeks before the fire.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Dr. Aleksandr Volkov doesn't exist," the voice said. "That was an alias. The man who destroyed our facility, who killed our people, who set our research back over a decade....his real name is Dimitri Valentino."
Dante's heart was pounding now, blood rushing in his ears.
"You're certain of this?" he asked.
