Harlan folded his arms. “It definitely wasn’t a good place.”

“You threw yourself into an exploration of paranormal phenomena around the world and financed the project with those occasional odd jobs for that investigation agency you mentioned. Jones and Jones. That’s what you’ve been doing all this time.”

“Until I picked up the chatter about Vortex this past year,” Harlan said.

“Which is a problem, because the secrets of Vortex might be extremely dangerous. But you aren’t interested in controlling those secrets. You’re worried about the damage they might cause.”

“Arganbright and Pine are more than a little worried, too,” Harlan said.

“I know. My point is, once again, you chose a different path than the one Larissa Whittier took. If she had known about Vortex she would have gone after it in order to acquire those secrets for herself. You and Victor and Lucas are just trying to protect people.”

Harlan was silent for a while. “The stories about my father and my grandfather are all true. They really did run the Foundation as if it were a mob organization. Their obsession with power kept them from focusing on the important things, like research and dealing with the fallout from Bluestone. Arganbright and Pine took that on as their mission, and they are good at it.”

“But the Foundation was your inheritance.”

“I never wanted it, Olivia.”

“I believe you.” She reflected for a moment. “And you felt guilty about that, as well. You failed your father because you didn’t accept and honor his legacy, and in the end you weren’t able to save his life.”

“That pretty much says it all.”

“Those so-called consulting jobs for Jones and Jones were an attempt at atonement, weren’t they? You tried to find answers and justice for other people because you wanted to atone for what you saw as your failures and, I think, to make up for your father’s and grandfather’s crimes. That’s what this obsession with Vortex is about, too. Finding it and neutralizing the danger, whatever that is, is an act of penance.”

“You think you have me figured out, don’t you?”

“Not entirely, but yes, I think I’m getting to know you. One thing is for sure—you are not anything like your half sister. What will you do with your life after we take care of Vortex? Got a plan for the next five years?”

“I’ll worry about that when the time comes,” Harlan said.

“You’re not much in the way of a long-range planner, are you?”

“No.”

The finality in the single word told her that she had pushed him too far. The moment of intimacy and communication was over. Harlan had just shut down.

She looked around the edge of the seat. Ash was still profoundly asleep. His aura wasn’t normal, but at least it wasn’t deteriorating. Yet.