The blue leather ledger containing three generations of Callahan tax evasion and bribe receipts.

Victoria’s face drained of color.

She turned to Adelaide.

“Get Marcus on the phone,” Victoria ordered.

“Now.”

Adelaide didn’t move immediately.

“Victoria, is it true?” Adelaide asked, her voice trembling. “Did Julian have access to the vault?”

“Get Marcus!” Victoria screamed.

The composure she had maintained for years cracked in a single second.

Her voice echoed off the concrete walls of the estate.

My phone buzzed again.

This time, it was a text message.

I slipped my hand into my pocket and swiped the screen without taking it out.

The text was from an unknown number, but I knew the code.

*Green light. Vehicle is waiting at the south gate. Move now.*

I stepped back, away from Victoria and the flashing screen of her phone.

“I’m not signing anything,” I said.

Victoria lunged forward, her fingers clawing toward my arm.

“You little fool,” she hissed.

“You will die in poverty.”

“I will make sure you are declared unfit.”

“I will take that child from you the second it is born.”