“You promised them protection.”
“I promised them conversation,” Daniel shot back. “You don’t survive here without negotiation.”
Adrian felt something inside him shift. “We agreed this bill wouldn’t be diluted.”
“And I’m telling you it won’t pass if it isn’t adjusted,” Daniel insisted. “You want to be right, or you want to win?”
The question lingered long after the call ended. Adrian had always believed those two goals could align. Now he wasn’t so sure.
The betrayal did not remain private. Three days before the vote, major news outlets published excerpts from the same leaked emails, but with a twist. The narrative suggested Adrian had been aware of the negotiations all along. Headlines implied hypocrisy. Pundits questioned his integrity.
In a tense press conference, a reporter asked directly, “Senator Whitmore, did you authorize Congressman Reeves to negotiate concessions with industry lobbyists?”
Adrian felt the weight of cameras pressing into him. “No,” he answered firmly. “I did not.”
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