I nodded.

Rachel’s ambition had made her the perfect puppet for a much larger financial theft.

On the desk, the terminal beeped.

A prompt appeared on the screen: *System Wipe Initiated. Confirm Security Override.*

Vance reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small black transponder.

It was the security bypass key that belonged to the King himself.

If he pressed that button, every digital trace of the Carter family’s stolen wealth would vanish.

I didn’t wait.

I threw my shoulder against the heavy oak door.

The latch gave way with a sharp metallic crack that echoed through the room.

Vance spun around, his eyes widening in sudden panic.

He didn’t drop the transponder; he shoved it into the terminal slot and hit the enter key.

“Stop!” Alexander shouted, stepping into the room behind me.

Vance didn’t argue or try to explain.

He ripped the silver external drive from the port, breaking the plastic casing in his haste.

He grabbed the heavy brass inkwell from the desk and threw it directly at my head.

I ducked, the metal object rushing past my ear and shattering a glass display cabinet behind me.