Adrian stepped forward, his boots clicking softly on the stone.

“I knew you would panic once Emily started digging into the logistics archives,” Adrian said. “I knew you would try to corner us tonight.”

“So you came down here anyway?” Marcus asked, his voice rising in anger. “You made yourself a target?”

“I made myself bait,” Adrian said. “And you walked right into the trap.”

Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black transmitter. “It doesn’t matter what you know. We have the physical servers. We are wiping the shipping database right now.”

My blood ran cold.

The shipping database contained the entire history of the syndicate’s illegal smuggling operations through our docks.

If those files were deleted, we would have no evidence to give to the federal prosecutors.

“The board will vote to restructure tomorrow morning,” Marcus said, his eyes gleaming again. “And you won’t have a single shred of proof to stop it.”

“Who is doing the deletion, Julian?” Adrian asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

“Someone who has direct physical access to the main terminal at the headquarters,” Julian said. “Someone you trusted.”