Each step felt heavy, but I kept my pace even.

I reached the study and closed the door behind me.

I turned on the desk lamp, casting a warm glow over the mahogany wood.

I pulled out my phone and opened the downloaded file.

It was a PDF of several internal emails sent from Ethan’s corporate account.

My breath caught in my throat as I read the first line.

The first line was an automated notification from the server administration of Lawson Vance Consulting.

It flagged an unauthorized transfer of client files to a personal external drive.

Below it was the reply from Ethan’s corporate account, authorizing the override.

The timestamp was from three weeks ago, late on a Tuesday night.

I scrolled down to the next email in the chain.

It was sent from Ethan to an address I did not recognize, but the name in the header made me stop.

*Lila Parker.*

“The transition is almost complete,” Ethan had written to her.

“Once the board approves the Q3 restructuring, your position in the London branch will be locked in.”