CHAPTER 4 THE FLASH DRIVE WAS EMPTY
Mara didn't wait until morning.
The moment Victor fell asleep, she locked herself inside her home office.
The silver flash drive sat on her desk.
Her hands trembled as she plugged it into her laptop.
A folder appeared.
EVIDENCE
She clicked.
Nothing.
Empty.
Every folder.
Every file.
Blank.
"No..."
She checked again.
Zero bytes.
The drive contained absolutely nothing.
Her pulse hammered in her ears.
Had Elena betrayed her after all?
Or had someone intercepted the evidence?
Just then, her laptop screen flickered.
A message appeared.
DON'T TRUST WHAT YOU SEE.
Mara jerked back.
She hadn't typed anything.
Another line appeared.
THE DRIVE ISN'T EMPTY. THEY'RE WATCHING.
Before she could react, her webcam light turned on by itself.
Someone was inside her computer.
She slammed the laptop shut.
At sunrise, Mara drove straight to Dylan's office.
The former cyber investigator took one look at the flash drive and smiled.
"This isn't a storage device."
"What?"
"It's a key."
"A key?"
He connected it to a secured computer that wasn't linked to the internet.
A password window appeared.
"Whoever made this knew someone would steal it."
"You mean..."
"The evidence was never supposed to be on the drive."
He entered a series of commands.
Suddenly the screen came alive.
Hundreds of encrypted files began downloading from a hidden server.
Photos.
Emails.
Bank transfers.
Medical records.
Voice recordings.
The progress bar reached one hundred percent.
Mara released a shaky breath.
"We've got them."
Dylan didn't answer.
He was staring at one document.
"What is it?"
He slowly turned the monitor toward her.
A confidential life insurance policy.
Insured Person:
Mara Lang
Benefit:
$75,000,000
Primary Beneficiary:
Victor Lang
She wasn't surprised.
She expected greed.
Then Dylan opened the next page.
A second policy.
Insured Person:
Lila Harrow
Primary Beneficiary:
Victor Lang
Mara frowned.
"Lila?"
Another document.
Another woman.
Another insurance policy.
All naming Victor as beneficiary.
Dylan whispered,
"Mara..."
"I don't think Lila is his partner."
"What?"
"I think she's next."
Before Mara could process it, Dylan clicked on an audio file.
Victor's voice filled the room.
"Once Mara is declared incompetent, we transfer the company."
Another voice answered.
It wasn't Lila.
It was Claudine.
"And the girl?"
Victor laughed.
"She still believes I'll marry her."
Silence.
Then Claudine spoke again.
"Will she become a problem after the baby?"
"No."
Victor's answer came without hesitation.
"She'll disappear like the others."
Mara felt the blood drain from her face.
Lila wasn't helping Victor build a future.
She was helping him dig her own grave.
That afternoon, Mara received a frantic phone call.
The number was unfamiliar.
She answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
Heavy breathing.
Then a terrified whisper.
"Mara..."
It was Lila.
"They're going to kill me."
The line went dead.
Against Dylan's advice, Mara drove to Lila's apartment.
The front door was half open.
Inside, furniture had been overturned.
Broken glass covered the floor.
Someone had searched the place.
"Lila?"
No answer.
Mara stepped farther inside.
A framed photograph lay shattered near the couch.
She picked it up.
Lila was smiling beside an elderly couple.
Her parents.
Written across the back in blue ink:
Come home safe. Love, Mom and Dad.
Something tightened inside Mara's chest.
Lila wasn't just "the other woman."
She was somebody's daughter.
Somebody who had trusted the wrong man.
A faint sound came from the bedroom.
Mara hurried toward it.
The closet door slowly creaked open.
Lila stumbled out.
Her face was bruised.
One eye swollen shut.
She collapsed into Mara's arms, sobbing.
"I didn't know..."
"I swear I didn't know..."
Mara helped her sit down.
"What happened?"
Lila couldn't stop shaking.
"He said he loved me."
"He told me you were dying."
"He said you wanted me to carry your family's future."
Her voice broke.
"I believed him."
Mara closed her eyes.
Every lie had been carefully designed.
Every victim had been chosen.
Then Lila looked up.
"They know you have the evidence."
Mara froze.
"How?"
"I heard Victor on the phone."
"He knows someone copied the files."
"When?"
"This morning."
Mara's heart pounded.
Only four people knew about the flash drive.
Herself.
Dylan.
Elena.
And...
Lila.
No.
Lila couldn't have known before calling.
Which meant...
Someone else had told Victor.
Someone inside their tiny circle was feeding him information.
Mara's phone vibrated.
A text from Elena.
DON'T GO HOME. THEY'RE WAITING FOR YOU.
Seconds later, another message arrived.
This one from Dylan.
LEAVE LILA IMMEDIATELY. SHE SET YOU UP.
Mara stared at both messages.
One of them was lying.
One of them wanted her dead.
Before she could decide—
The apartment lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Then came the unmistakable sound...
Someone slowly cocking a handgun.
May you like
A man's voice echoed through the apartment.
"Found you."
