The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by the hum of the terminal’s cooling fan.

I looked at my reflection in the dark glass of the terminal.

I looked pale, my hair damp from the rain outside.

“It’s loading,” Miller whispered.

The screen flashed once, then displayed a single line of text.

*HASH VERIFIED. INTEGRITY: 100%.*

The breath went out of me as if I had been struck in the chest.

“It’s real,” Miller said, turning his head to look at me.

“The signature is genuine.”

“He signed off on the defense contractor,” I said, my voice flat.

“He authorized the initial transfer of the funds,” Miller said quietly.

“The same funds Cole used to set up the black accounts.”

I leaned against the edge of the metal desk, my knees feeling weak.

My father had been my moral compass.

Every step I took to expose Cole’s corruption was meant to honor my father’s memory.

Now, the foundation of everything I believed was crumbling.

“There has to be an explanation,” I said.

“The ledger doesn’t give explanations,” Miller said. “It only records the facts.”