Elias read the message for a moment before typing back.Elias: Rhodes.It didn’t take long before the typing bubbles appeared again.Loid: It’s messy. Took a while to narrow it down, but I found a few people who might’ve been behind the Rhodes contracts.Elias: Go on.Loid: Three names overlap between Rhodes and Halberg’s old financial trails.First — Callen Drew. Used to be a systems consultant for Halberg. Resigned a month before the audits vanished. Now runs a “logistics and evaluation” front. Most of Rhodes’s invoice transfers route through him.Second — Maris Kettle, procurement lead back then. Had signing authority over some of those vendor contracts.Third — Javier Holt, offshore handler tied to Drew’s shell accounts. Smaller amounts, but same pattern.Loid’s messages came in three bursts, successively.Loid: Of the three, Drew’s the one that fits. The dates, the money flow and everything, lines up. I’m sending you his file now. Basic background, past employers, and account tra

Lina waited quietly as Elias processed the name.He exhaled once, slow and controlled, before speaking.“Tell her I’m not available.”Lina blinked. “Should I—”“Yes.” His tone left no room for interpretation.As the door shut behind her, Elias leaned back slightly, thinking it through.Since she and Sebastian had been accused of having an affair, then at the very least, they must have been close to some extent. Appearing in front of her now—acting differently, speaking differently—was a risk. She might notice something was off. And if she became suspicious enough to talk…No. Best to avoid her altogether.He intended to return to the Linar case immediately, but Lina came back almost as soon as she’d left.“Sir.” She looked troubled. “She said she won’t leave unless she speaks with you.”Elias paused.Then Lina stepped aside, rolling down the blinds that covered the small glass panel beside the door.“...You should see this.”Through the blind slats, he saw the young woman sitting in t