“It is the only game they left me,” I said.

The phone in my hand vibrated, a new message notification blinking on the damaged screen.

The text was from Calvin.

“Sheriff’s deputy just drove past the main gate twice,” it read. “We need to talk, Avery.”

I showed the screen to Malcolm.

He sighed and rubbed his temples, his legal pads scattered across the desk.

“Your father is trying to pressure you from every angle,” Malcolm said. “He knows the warehouse is the heart of the operation.”

“He wants me to break before we even get to the cabin,” I said.

“Are you sure about this, Avery?” Malcolm asked, leaning forward over his mahogany desk.

“If they realize what you are doing, they will tie you up in court until Northline is bankrupt.”

“They won’t realize it,” I said. “They are too greedy to think clearly.”

I stood up and pulled my woolen coat tight around my shoulders.

“Do you have the document?” I asked.

Malcolm opened his desk drawer and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper.