Anthony nodded and said, “It is important that everyone suffering addiction understands it’s okay to ask for help. I’m here to be that support for Anita. We all need support in our lives.”

That explained all the photographs of Anthony with heiresses and wealthy wives—they’d paid him to be their sober companion. Natalie felt relieved that, on this, she’d been right not to make assumptions. Now they could get to the real story.

“Why did you leave the White House, Mrs. Crusoe? Why are you here?”

“When my husband betrayed me, I had to leave.” She spoke with a hint of defiance in her voice.

“Respectfully, is the president is having an affair?”

“No, I don’t believe he is,” Anita Crusoe said, which was the answer Natalie had expected. “There are other forms of betrayal. Some more difficult to get over than sexual infidelity.”

Natalie dropped her hand behind her back and did a circling motion with her index finger, indicating to Dasha she should push to crop Anthony out of the shot. Viewers would now see only Natalie and FLOTUS one-on-one.

“You said another form of betrayal,” Natalie said. “You mean asking someone to betray their people? Asking you to betray your country?”

“Smart girl. Yes.” A sad smile played at the corners of the First Lady’s eyes. “Most of your colleagues seem to think the regional troubles are about a boy hiding out in the embassy.” She shook her head. “But no. This is about economic interests. Money.”

“Oil,” Natalie said.

“Yes, oil. After years of violence and chaos, my country is finally beginning to sprout the green shoots of democracy. Members of my family lost their lives fighting for this democracy. My husband knows this and he claims to stand for democratic values. Yet he is prepared to destroy all that now. I can’t abide it.”

Natalie gestured to Matt, who handed her a photograph of one of the satellite images. She handed the photo to the First Lady. “Mrs. Crusoe, you’ll see in this image US warships assembled off the coast of Venezuela. A former Pentagon official confirms to me that the US is prepared for an assault on Venezuela. The goal—to seize Venezuela’s oil pipeline and hand control to the Colombians.”

She paused to let the First Lady react to the bombshell, but Mrs. Crusoe remained still, almost frozen, staring down at the photos.

“Mrs. Crusoe, attacking Venezuela will destabilize the international oil market, give the Lystra family a stranglehold over the US and Latin America, and destroy the young democracy in Venezuela,” Natalie continued. “Tell us, why is your husband starting this war?”

“You know my husband is a very rich man.” A flash of anger crossed the First Lady’s face. “My husband got rich on minerals and oil in Latin America. The Colombians were invested in these companies.”

“You mean the Lystras. He owes them?”