Daniel stood just feet away, expression carefully neutral. Later that evening, Adrian confronted him in a private Capitol corridor. “Did you leak this?” he demanded.
Daniel’s jaw tightened. “I protected myself. They were going to drag us both down.”
“So you let them believe I was complicit?”
“I didn’t correct them,” Daniel replied quietly. “There’s a difference.”
Adrian stared at him in disbelief. “You stood in my office ten years ago and said we would do this differently. Do you remember that?”
Daniel’s voice lowered. “I remember being younger.”
The following day, party leadership called Adrian into a closed door meeting. The message was blunt. “Withdraw the bill. Issue a joint statement with Reeves. Contain the damage.”
“And if I don’t?” Adrian asked.
“You risk losing committee assignments. Funding. Possibly your seat.”
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