At midnight, Anna returned to her tiny apartment.

Her brother, Lucas, was asleep.

She sat at the kitchen table and connected the USB drive to her old laptop.

At first, there was only one folder.

The name was simple.

“PROJECT 17.”

Anna opened it.

Her heart began pounding.

Inside were dozens of financial documents.

Bank transfers.

Company accounts.

Secret payments.

Fake invoices.

And hundreds of thousands of dollars transferred into offshore accounts.

The transactions were connected to Blackwood Holdings.

Anna stared at the screen.

Her father had been right.

Someone had been stealing millions from the company.

Then she found a document dated three days before her father's death.

Her father's name was listed as the person who had discovered the fraud.

Underneath it was a handwritten note:

“Carter knows.”

Anna covered her mouth.

Then she opened another file.

This one contained photographs.

Her father meeting with a man.

The man was Victoria's father, Richard Blackwood.

Anna's hands began shaking.

Then she found something even worse.

A recording.

She clicked play.

Her father's voice filled the room.

“If you're hearing this, something happened to me.”

Anna stopped breathing.

“I discovered that Richard Blackwood has been moving company money into private accounts for years.”

There was a pause.

“I confronted him.”

Another voice appeared.

Richard.

“You don't understand what you're dealing with.”

Anna's father answered,

“I understand perfectly.”

The recording ended.

Anna sat motionless.

Then she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned.

Lucas stood in the doorway.

“Anna?”

She quickly closed the laptop.

“What are you doing awake?”

“I heard voices.”

Anna smiled nervously.

“Go back to bed.”

Lucas looked at her.

“You're crying.”

She wiped her face.

“I'm okay.”

But she wasn't.

The next morning, Anna contacted a lawyer.

Before she could explain everything, her phone rang.

Unknown number.

She answered.

A man's voice whispered,

“Destroy the drive.”

Anna froze.

“Who is this?”

“You know exactly who.”

The call ended.

Anna immediately looked toward the window.

A black car was parked across the street.

Someone was watching her.

She closed the curtains.

Then her phone received a message.

“Your father kept secrets.

Don't make the same mistake.”

Anna felt fear rise in her chest.

But beneath that fear was something stronger.

Anger.

For three years, she had believed her father's death was simply a tragedy.

Now she knew it might have been connected to a crime.

And the people responsible were still powerful.

Still wealthy.

Still free.

Anna looked at the USB drive.

Then she whispered,