Internal authorization logs.
Copies of contracts.
Vendor lists.
Notes.
My questions.
My theories.
Everything I suspected.
Everything I planned to review next.
I had thought I was secretly investigating Ethan.
But someone had been reading over my shoulder the entire time.
Liam took the phone from my hand.
“Maya, listen to me. We call Ruiz. Right now.”
I barely heard him.
The email.
Yesterday’s email.
Preserve records.
The message Ethan saw.
The message that set him off.
Had it been written to warn me?
Or to make sure Ethan discovered the audit?
A thought moved quietly into place.
“Liam.”
He was already reaching for the call button.
“Wait.”
“No.”
“Just wait.”
He looked at me.
I forced myself to slow down.
To separate fear from fact.
“What exactly did Aaron Bell say about Claire?”
“That she resigned three weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“He wouldn’t discuss personnel matters.”
“Did you tell him my name?”
