Chapter 8: The File

Zoe

The file sits on Liam's desk like a loaded gun. Black leather. Thick. Heavy. The truth my mother's life was traded for. The truth Liam's father died for. I have not touched it. I am afraid that if I do, it will burn me. Liam is standing by the window, his back to me. The morning light catches his shoulders, but it does not warm him. He looks like a man carved from stone.

"Open it," he says. "Liam—" "Open it, Zoe. You deserve to know what you have been fighting for." I reach for the file. My fingers tremble. The leather is cold and smooth, like the skin of a snake.

I opened it, names, dates, and transactions. A web of lies so thick it could choke the sun. I recognize some of the names – politicians, businessmen, and people I have seen on television. Others are strangers, ghosts, and shadows. And at the centre, a photograph.

Victor Kane. Younger. Smiling. Standing next to a man with Liam's eyes. "Your father," I say. "Yes." Liam turns to face me. "He trusted Victor. He loved him like a brother. And Victor sold him for money." "How do you know?" "Because the file contains everything. The payments. The emails. The night my father died, Victor was supposed to be with him." Liam's voice cracks. "He was late because he was making sure the trap was set."

I close the file. The weight of it presses against my chest. "What are you going to do?" "Use it. Burn them all." "And Evelyn?" "She is in custody. But she is not the end. She was never the end." He walks toward me and takes the file from my hands. "There are others. People are higher than her. People who have been operating in the shadows for decades."

I think about my mother, lying in a hospital bed with tubes in her arms. I think about the black mark that is spreading toward her heart. I think about the clock that is still ticking.

"Three days," I say. "That is what Evelyn gave us."We have more than that now. Victor is talking. He is giving us names."And my mother?" Liam sets the file down and cups my face. His thumbs brush my cheeks. "She is safe. Marcus moved her to a private facility. No one knows where she is. Not even me."

"Not even you?" "Not even me." He kisses my forehead. "It is the only way to keep her safe." I want to cry. I want to scream. But the tears do not come, and the scream is stuck in my throat. "What do we do now?" I ask.

"Now we wait. Waiting is a kind of torture. I sit by the window, watching the city change colours as the sun climbs higher. Liam is on the phone, his voice low, his words clipped. He is building an army of lawyers and investigators. I do not understand half of what he is saying. I do not need to. I just need my mother to live. My phone buzzes, and a message from an unknown number.

I know where she is. My blood turns to ice. I stare at the screen, my hands shaking. Who is this? Someone who can help you. Meet me at the café. Alone. I look at Liam. He is still on the phone, his back to me. I should tell him. I should show him the message.

But something stops me. An old, familiar voice, the voice of a woman who has been surviving her whole life.

Do not trust anyone. I slip the phone into my pocket and stand. "Liam." He turns. "What is it?"I need some air. I am going for a walk."

His eyes narrow. "Zoe—" "I will be back in an hour. I promise." He studies me for a long moment. Then he nods.

"Marcus will go with you, no. I need to be alone." "Then you are not going." We stare at each other. A silent war. "Fine," I say. "Marcus can come. But he stays outside." "Agreed."

The café is the same one where I first met Evelyn. It smells of burnt coffee and old rain. The booths are worn, and the windows are steamed. Marcus is waiting in the car, his eyes on the door.

I sit in the corner and wait. A woman approaches. She is older, gray-haired, with a face carved by worry. She sits across from me and folds her hands on the table. "You are Zoe," she says.

"Who are you?" "Someone who loved Liam's father." She pauses. "Someone who wants to help." "Help with what?"

She reaches into her bag and pulls out a flash drive – small, black, unmarked. "This is the real file. Not the one Victor gave you. Not the one Evelyn wanted." She sets it on the table. "This is everything. The names of the people at the top. The ones who have been hiding for decades."

I stare at the drive. "Why are you giving this to me?" "Because Liam is too close. He can not see what is right in front of him." She stands. "And because his father would have wanted him to live. Not to die chasing ghosts." She walks away. I sit there, the flash drive in my hand, my heart pounding.

Tick-tock, the game is not over. It has only just begun. And now, I have a choice. Trust Liam. Or trust the ghost of a woman who claims to love him. I slip the drive into my pocket. And I do not tell him.