My own mother was threatening to destroy my career and my reputation to keep the truth buried.

On the laptop screen, the progress bar reached one hundred percent.

I ejected the flash drive and slipped it into my coat pocket.

I shut down the computer, packed it into my bag, and stood up.

I knew I couldn’t wait for a standard court date anymore.

By tomorrow morning, the defense firm would have Aaron in custody, and my hard drives would be confiscated.

I had to bypass the system.

I walked to the window and looked down at the street below.

A black SUV had just pulled up to the curb outside the building, its engine idling, headlights cutting through the dark.

Two men in dark coats got out of the vehicle and walked toward the lobby entrance.

I grabbed my bag, turned off the desk lamp, and stepped out into the hallway, heading toward the service stairs at the back of the building.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out as I hurried down the concrete steps, the sound of my heels echoing in the narrow stairwell.