جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 200

Brandon's pov The recovered message remained open on my screen, Bruce's words sitting there like a confession without a name attached. I leaned closer, checking the damaged recipient field again. “There has to be something underneath this,” I muttered, dragging my fingers across the keyboard. “Deleted information usually leaves traces somewhere in the system.”I opened the backup archive and searched the timestamp attached to Bruce's message. Several fragments appeared, but the sender's identity had been completely erased. The system showed that someone had responded, yet the account information was missing. I frowned at the screen, knowing whoever deleted it had gone to great lengths to hide the connection.“Can you recover the response?” Lisa asked, standing beside my chair. I glanced at her before returning to the screen. “I'm trying,” I replied, opening another recovery tool. “The message exists, but whoever removed it didn't just delete the name. They damaged the account trail t

Erin's pov Ralph remained behind his desk, one hand resting against the folder containing the financial records. Nobody spoke for several seconds. Lisa stood beside me, watching him closely, while Megan waited near the door. I could see the fear in Ralph's face now, and it was the first honest reaction we'd seen from him since entering his office.“You knew George was investigating the firm,” I said, keeping my voice low as I stared at him. Ralph nodded slowly, rubbing his forehead before answering. “Yes, I knew,” he admitted, looking down at the documents. “I knew George was getting dangerously close to information he wasn't supposed to find.”“Then tell us what happened,” Lisa demanded, stepping closer to the desk. Ralph looked at her before answering. “I was paid to stop him from exposing certain information,” he confessed, his voice dropping. “But I never personally ordered anyone to kill George.” His admission left the room silent for several uncomfortable seconds.I stared at h

Lisa's pov I pushed the door open with Erin beside me, while Megan and Brandon remained outside where the person wouldn't notice them. My phone was still in my hand, their message staring back at me. I had spent years trusting this person, and now I was walking toward them knowing they had been hiding something enormous from me.They looked up when we entered, and their expression barely changed. “Lisa,” they said calmly, setting their phone down. “I was wondering how long it would take you to come here.” I stopped across from them, studying their face. Erin remained beside me, silent, allowing me to handle the confrontation.“You knew I was coming,” I said, keeping my voice steady as I placed my phone on the table. “So don't waste my time pretending you don't understand why I'm here.” They gave me a small smile. “I don't know what you've been told, but whatever Ralph said, you shouldn't believe it.”“Ralph told us enough,” I replied, folding my arms as I watched their expression car

Erin's povThe room was quieter than it had been all night when Brandon handed the recovered files to Megan. I watched her check every document before placing them into separate folders. For years, evidence had disappeared, records had been changed, and people had lied. This time, nobody was leaving anything behind that could be erased again tonight.Megan connected the drive to her laptop and began checking every file against the original records. “We preserve everything exactly as we found it,” she said, carefully comparing timestamps and documents. “Nobody touches these files without recording what they do.” Her voice was firm, and for once, nobody argued with her at all.Brandon opened George’s original timeline beside the recovered records, moving between both screens. “Everything matches,” he said, pointing toward the dates. “The financial transfers, access records, Bruce’s communications, and George’s requests all line up.” I stared at the screens, realizing the story we had sp

Lisa's pov Four months later, I stood by the window of our new home with a cup of tea warming my hands, watching sunlight spread across the garden. The flowers Erin had insisted on planting were finally blooming, and for once, the only thing waiting for me was a quiet morning and nowhere else I needed to be.There were no court documents covering the dining table anymore, no folders stacked beside my laptop, and no strange messages waiting on my phone. I could leave my phone on the counter without checking it every few minutes. I could sleep through the night without wondering whether tomorrow would bring another secret.The sound of footsteps came from behind me, followed by familiar arms wrapping around my waist. Erin rested his chin against my shoulder, pulling me gently against him. I smiled before he even spoke because somehow, after everything we had survived, his presence beside me still felt like the most natural thing in the world.“You're awake early,” Erin murmured, restin