"I would like to request legal representation before answering further questions."
Victoria agreed.
The interview ended.
But as Evelyn stood, she dropped a small piece of paper.
Victoria noticed it on the floor.
She picked it up.
It contained a handwritten phone number and a name.
THOMAS REED.
Victoria looked up.
"Ms. Shaw?"
Evelyn froze.
"Yes?"
"Why do you have Thomas Reed's contact information?"
Evelyn looked frightened.
"I don't."
Victoria held up the paper.
Evelyn stared at it.
Then she whispered:
"Please don't mention that number to anyone."
Robert stood.
"Why?"
Evelyn looked toward the hallway.
Then she lowered her voice.
"Because Thomas didn't disappear."
Victoria felt her heart race.
"Where is he?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"I can't tell you here."
"Then where?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"There's a place outside the city. He contacted me several days ago."
Victoria took a step closer.
"Is he safe?"
Evelyn looked at her.
"I don't know."
"Did you help him hide?"
Evelyn didn't answer.
Instead, she said something that changed everything.
"Thomas isn't the only person who has the original evidence."
Victoria stared at her.
"What do you mean?"
Evelyn looked toward Robert.
"The Black Ledger isn't just a list of complaints. It's connected to a much larger operation."
Robert's face became tense.
"What operation?"
Evelyn took a deep breath.
"Several private companies were paid to manage confidential investigations. But some of those payments were never for administrative services."
Victoria remained completely still.
"Then what were they for?"
Evelyn looked down.
"To keep certain people quiet."
The room went silent.
Victoria asked:
"Who were those people?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"I don't know everyone involved. But I saw the payment records."
"Who approved them?"
"Brooks."
"And who received the money?"
Evelyn looked at Robert.
Then she said:
"Some of the companies were connected to people outside the department."
Victoria slowly sat down.
For the first time, she understood the full scale of the problem.
The department wasn't simply hiding complaints.
There might be a network of private individuals benefiting from the silence.
And Thomas Reed had discovered something that could expose them.
Evelyn stood.
"I have to go."
Victoria looked up.
"Wait. We need to protect you."
Evelyn shook her head.
"You don't understand. If they know I've spoken to you, my family could be in danger."
Robert immediately said:
"We can arrange appropriate protection."
Evelyn looked at him with tired eyes.
"That's what everyone says."
Then she walked out.
Victoria watched the door close.
A few seconds later, she turned toward Robert.
"We need to find Thomas."
Robert nodded.
"And Evelyn."
But when they checked the hallway, Evelyn was already gone.
Her phone was switched off.
Her office was empty.
And the receptionist said she had left the building without informing anyone.
Victoria returned to the conference room.
On the table, she noticed something.
Evelyn's tablet had been left behind.
The screen was still on.
A message notification appeared.
The sender's name was hidden.
But the preview was visible.
YOU HAVE UNTIL MONDAY TO RETURN EVERYTHING.
Victoria stared at the message.
Then another notification appeared.
OR YOUR FAMILY WILL PAY FOR YOUR MISTAKE.
Robert slowly approached.
He read the words.
Neither of them spoke.
Outside, the afternoon sun was beginning to disappear behind the buildings.
Victoria picked up her phone and called the appropriate authorities to report the apparent threat and preserve the device.
Then she looked at Robert.
"This is no longer just an internal investigation."
Robert nodded.
"No."
Victoria closed the tablet's cover.
"Someone is threatening witnesses. Someone is hiding financial records. And someone has been using this department to protect people who should be held accountable."
She paused.
"We need to find out who is really running this operation."
Robert looked toward the window.
Then he said quietly:
"Victoria, there's something else you should know."
She turned.
"What?"
"Yesterday, I received a letter from the department's legal office."
"What did it say?"
Robert took a folded document from his jacket.
"It said that if I continued supporting your investigation, I could be removed from my position."
Victoria stared at him.
"Are you going to stop?"
Robert looked down at the letter.
Then he slowly tore it in half.
"No."
He placed the pieces on the table.
"I've spent thirty-two years protecting this department. I refuse to spend the final years of my career protecting the people who are destroying it."
Victoria nodded.
For the first time in days, she felt that she wasn't fighting alone.
But the danger was growing.
And neither of them knew that, just a few floors above their conference room, Deputy Commissioner Brooks had received a report confirming that Evelyn Shaw had spoken to Victoria.
He read it twice.
Then he picked up his phone.
"Is the situation under control?" he asked.
A voice answered:
"Not anymore."
Brooks looked out of his office window.
"Then we need to move faster."
He paused.
"Find Thomas Reed. Find the original ledger. And make sure Victoria Hayes never gets another chance to open either one."
He ended the call.
Then he walked toward a locked cabinet behind his desk.
Inside were several folders.
One of them had a name written across the front.
VICTORIA HAYES — CONFIDENTIAL.
Brooks opened it.
The first page contained an old photograph of Victoria.
The second contained a summary of her professional history.
But the third page revealed something even more disturbing.
A handwritten note:
HER BROTHER'S CASE WAS CLOSED FOR A REASON. DO NOT LET HER DISCOVER WHY.
Brooks stared at the note.
Then he slowly closed the folder.
Because the biggest secret in the entire investigation wasn't the disappearance of the complaints.
It was the fact that Victoria Hayes might have been connected to the conspiracy long before she ever accepted the assignment.
And she was about to discover that the truth about her brother was much darker than she had ever imagined.
Victoria Hayes had learned one important lesson during her investigation: when powerful people became frightened, they stopped making threats and started making people disappear.
Thomas Reed was now the most important witness in the entire case.
But nobody knew where he was.
His phone had been disconnected. His apartment was empty. His neighbors claimed they had not seen him for days. Even the hospital records showed no sign that he had sought medical attention after the mysterious incident outside his home.
Victoria refused to believe he had simply run away.