The computer groaned, its fan whirring to life as it attempted to read the encrypted partition.

A dialogue box popped up on the screen, demanding an administrative password.

“It’s military grade,” I said, tapping a few keys. “Without the decryption key, it will take hours to bypass.”

“Let me try,” Madison said, stepping forward.

“Madison, this is a secure government drive,” I said. “It’s not like a standard laptop.”

“I know,” she said, her voice turning quiet. “But I’ve been inside Dad’s network before.”

I looked up at her.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Madison didn’t look at me.

She kept her eyes on the monitor, her fingers twitching against her sides.

“Last month, I found his private server,” Madison said. “The one he keeps hidden behind the firewall in his study.”

“You hacked Dad’s computer?” I asked.

“I didn’t have to hack it,” Madison said. “He wrote his passwords in an old ledger in his desk drawer. He thinks because he’s old-school, nobody will look there.”

She leaned over my shoulder, her fingers flying across the keyboard.