“Tony forged them,” he said quietly, looking up at me.

“He wanted us divided. He wanted you hunting me instead of looking at his accounts.”

“He’s been planning this for thirty years.”

He pointed to the lockbox.

“The archived encryption keys are in there,” he said.

“They show the origin of the transfer orders. They all lead back to Tony’s private server in the corporate office.”

Before I could answer, a loud electronic chirp cut through the quiet room.

It didn’t come from the computer monitors.

It came from a small black transponder sitting on the edge of the desk.

A red light on the device was blinking rapidly, casting a bloody glow over the dusty paperwork.

I stepped closer, my chest tightening as I looked at the screen.

A single text message was displayed on the green screen.

*Signal acquired. Five minutes.*

The heavy wooden door behind us rattled.

I lunged forward and threw the heavy iron bolt across the door frame.

The metal screeched against the bracket, settling into place just as a second, harder blow struck the wood from the outside.