The note contained an authorization code that did not belong to anyone in the Romano offices.

It was an external vendor code.

I typed the code into our vendor lookup database.

The screen loaded slowly, the progress bar ticking up.

A name appeared at the top of the search results.

*Apex Logistics.*

My heart skipped a beat.

This was the company Marcus worked for.

I looked back at the discrepancy in weight.

Forty tons of unaccounted cargo had been loaded onto our ship under an Apex authorization.

I began scrolling through the previous months, checking every voyage the *Vanguard* had made.

Every single trip had a similar discrepancy.

There were tons of extra weight that never appeared on the official digital manifests.

The implications started to form in my mind.

If Marcus was using Apex to modify our digital logs, he was moving something on our ships without Adrian’s knowledge.

Suddenly, the doorknob to my room turned.

The door creaked open slowly, casting a long shadow across the hardwood floor.

I held my breath, my fingers frozen over the keyboard.