I looked at my sister one last time.

She looked small, wet, and entirely alone in the expensive room.

“I loved you, Vanessa,” I said.

“Claire, please,” she begged.

I turned my back on her and followed Gabriel out into the hallway.

The elevator ride down to the garage was silent.

The air in the concrete garage was cold and smelled of gasoline.

Gabriel unlocked his black SUV and opened the passenger door for me.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked.

“I want justice for my mother,” I said.

“We’ll get it,” he said.

He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

The powerful motor rumbled in the enclosed space.

We drove out into the pouring rain, the city lights blurring through the windshield.

The highway was nearly empty.

The headlights of the SUV cut through the sheets of water hitting the asphalt.

I stared out the window, watching the dark shapes of trees replace the concrete buildings.

“If Richard finds those ledgers first, he’ll destroy the only physical proof of the embezzlement,” I said.