The name on the ledger read ‘V. Cole.’For a moment, nobody said anything. Tyler looked between the smudged handwriting and Jerry's face, watching the color drain out of it entirely."Jerry," Priscilla said carefully. "Is that who I think it is?""Vivian," Jerry said, his voice barely audible. "Vivian Cole.""The Chief Operations Director," Tyler said slowly, the name clicking into place from their earlier conversation, the same woman who had overseen part of the search all those years ago. "The one who handled the investigation after your health slowed you down.""Yes." Jerry's hand trembled slightly as he reached for the ledger, pulling it closer, staring at the entry as though he could will it to say something different. "This says she authorized a payment to an account linked to Cassandra Wren's severance, routed separately from standard payroll. Why would she do that? Why would she hide it in a separate transaction instead of processing it normally?""Maybe it wasn't hidden," Nat

Fae's parents' private dining room was smaller than the hall where the gathering had taken place, but somehow it felt more intimidating, the long table set with more silverware than Tyler knew what to do with and a chandelier overhead that threw sharp, unflattering light across every face in the room.He arrived early, as instructed, and spent twenty minutes alone with Fae's father in the study before dinner even began, answering questions that felt less like conversation and more like an audit. His bank balance. His savings, or lack thereof. His education, which stopped at the fire academy. Whether he had ever considered a career with more growth potential.Tyler answered every question honestly, without flinching, without padding the truth to sound more impressive. By the time they moved to the dining room, he suspected her father still wasn't convinced, but at least he hadn't been dismissed outright.Dinner started civil enough, the usual exchange of pleasantries while the first co

The estate looked different at night, the warm lights that had made it feel almost inviting during the dinner now throwing long, uneasy shadows across the drive. Tyler parked behind two unfamiliar cars and found Jerry waiting at the front door before he'd even made it up the steps, his face pale and drawn in a way Tyler hadn't seen since the day of the divorce announcement."Thank you for coming so quickly," Jerry said, already turning to lead him inside."What exactly happened?""One of the household staff found the archive door unlocked around eleven," Jerry said, his voice tight as they moved down the familiar hallway. "It's always kept locked, always. She assumed someone had simply forgotten, until she went inside to check and found the filing cabinets disturbed."They reached the study, and Tyler stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene. Drawers hung half open, papers scattered across the desk where they'd carefully sorted through records only days earlier. It wasn't chaos, ex

Jerry poured two cups of coffee from the pot on the sideboard, his hands steadier now than they'd been an hour earlier, though the exhaustion still sat heavy in his face. He set one cup in front of Tyler and settled back into his chair with the other, as though the simple act of making coffee had given him a moment to collect himself."You asked who might have wanted you gone," Jerry said. "I think it's time I explained the situation the family was in before you were born. It might help make sense of things.""I'm listening."Jerry wrapped both hands around his cup, staring into it for a moment before beginning. "My father was still alive then, still running the company directly. He had three children. Myself, Edmund, and our younger sister, Caroline, who passed many years ago. Each of us had expectations attached to our positions, and each of our children carried those expectations forward.""Charles was your son," Tyler said. "So he was in line to inherit.""Eventually, yes, assumin

The regional distribution warehouse sat on the edge of the industrial district, a sprawling, gray building that handled equipment shipments for the fire departments the Black family sponsored. Tyler arrived at seven in the morning, dressed down in jeans and a plain jacket instead of anything resembling business attire, and found the site manager waiting for him at the loading bay with a clipboard and a distinctly unimpressed expression."You're the one they sent," the man said, more a statement than a question. "Tyler, right?"Tyler lifted his shoulders, "That's me.""I'm Russ. Run the floor here." He looked Tyler over once, clearly sizing him up and finding him lacking. "Not gonna lie, when corporate said they were sending someone to look at our grant distribution mess, I figured we'd get some suit with a clipboard and zero clue what actually happens down here.""I'm not big on suits," Tyler said. "Mind showing me around instead?"Russ blinked, visibly caught off guard by the reques