Tessa Vale stepped into the study, her laptop clutched tightly under her arm.

Her tailored suit was damp at the shoulders, but her expression was perfectly calm.

Outside, the blue and red lights of local police cruisers bounced off the wet trees.

Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder as they approached the estate gates.

“The local police are setting up a perimeter,” Tessa said, looking out the window. “We don’t have much time.”

“Gideon controls the local precinct,” Ryker said, his voice cold. “He’ll have this entire place shut down before we can walk out.”

“We can’t let them take the evidence,” I said.

Ryker walked over to his desk, which had been cleared of everything except a small black drive.

“They won’t,” he said.

He sat down and opened Tessa’s laptop, plugging the drive into the side port.

“Is the decryption finished?” Ryker asked.

“Just completed,” Tessa replied, pointing at the screen. “Every shell company, every off-shore account, and every wire transfer Mara documented before she died.”

I leaned over the desk, my heart hammering against my ribs.