He listened again.

For the first time, his face showed genuine fear.

He ended the call.

Daniel watched him closely.

"What happened?"

Victor did not answer.

Instead, he looked at Richard.

"Who else knows about the briefcase?"

Richard frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

Victor's eyes moved between the three men.

"Who else has the files?"

Daniel realized something important.

Victor had not arrived merely to recover the briefcase.

He had arrived believing that the documents could still be contained.

But the phone call had revealed that his control over the situation was already slipping.

Someone else had acted.

Someone else had obtained information.

And Victor no longer knew where the evidence would appear next.

PART SIX: THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

Chapter 10: Rebecca Miller

The woman on Victor's phone was Rebecca Miller, the financial investigator who had been coordinating the case with Daniel's team.

For months, Rebecca had been tracing the flow of money through the companies associated with Victor Kane.

She was forty-three, methodical, and known for refusing to accept a conclusion until the evidence supported it.

Her colleagues often joked that Rebecca could find an accounting discrepancy in a hundred-page report faster than most people could locate their own names.

But the Kane investigation had frustrated her.

Every time the team discovered a promising lead, a company changed its legal address, an account was closed, or a key witness suddenly became unavailable.

The financial records appeared designed to create confusion.

Rebecca suspected that Victor had help.

Someone with access to internal company documents had been altering records and redirecting payments.

The problem was identifying that person.

Then, earlier that evening, Rebecca received a message from an unfamiliar number.

The message contained a digital copy of an email from Victor.

It was the same message Michael had found.

Make sure the original records never reach the investigators.

Rebecca immediately recognized its significance.

She requested an urgent review of the relevant records and contacted the team responsible for preserving the financial evidence.

Then she attempted to reach Daniel.

The first call failed.

The second connected briefly before dropping.

Rebecca checked the location information Daniel had submitted earlier and realized that the warehouse meeting might be unfolding differently from what he had expected.

She called Victor's number.

He answered.

"Victor Kane?"

"Who is this?"

"Rebecca Miller. I am contacting you regarding the investigation into Kane Urban Development."

Victor went silent.

Rebecca continued.

"We have received information that may be relevant to several financial transactions connected to your company."

"What information?"

"That is something you will have the opportunity to discuss through the appropriate legal process."

Victor's voice became tense.

"Where did you get it?"

"I am not going to discuss investigative sources over the telephone."

"Rebecca, you have no idea what you're dealing with."

"I believe I understand enough to ask you to preserve your company's records and refrain from contacting potential witnesses about their statements."

Victor laughed nervously.

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It is a formal warning that interference with an investigation can have serious consequences."

Rebecca ended the call.

She immediately sent a message to her supervisor requesting urgent assistance at the warehouse.

She did not know that Victor was already there with Daniel, Richard, and Michael.

But she knew that the situation had become dangerous.

And she knew that the briefcase was no longer the only source of evidence.

Chapter 11: Victor's Greatest Mistake

Inside the warehouse, Victor lowered his phone.

Daniel watched him.

"Who was that?"

Victor ignored the question.

Richard stepped forward.

"Victor, whatever you have done, this has gone too far."

Victor turned on him.

"Don't pretend you understand what I've been trying to accomplish."

"I understand that you deceived people."

"I kept the company alive!"

"By falsifying reports?"

"By buying time!"

"With other people's money?"

Victor's face flushed.

"You think business is clean? You think every successful company gets where it is without making difficult decisions?"

Richard answered quietly.

"Making difficult decisions is not the same as lying to the people who trust you."

Victor stared at him.

For years, Richard's approval had mattered to him.

Richard had been one of the few people whose judgment Victor genuinely respected. He had wanted Richard's name on the reports because it made the projects appear credible.

He had wanted Richard's friendship because it reassured him that he was still a respectable businessman.

Now Richard was standing in front of him, refusing to provide that reassurance.

Victor looked toward Daniel.

"You have no idea how much money is involved."

Daniel replied, "The amount does not change the evidence."

Victor shook his head.

"You are all pretending this is simple. It isn't. The company has hundreds of creditors. If everything collapses overnight, employees lose their jobs. Suppliers go unpaid. Families suffer."

"Then you should have told the truth before the situation reached this point," Daniel said.

Victor's expression hardened.

"You think honesty would have saved the company?"

"I think deception made the damage worse."

Victor looked at the briefcase.

His entire strategy had depended on controlling information.

As long as he could keep the original documents out of public view, he believed he could negotiate another loan, attract another investor, or persuade another group of people to accept his explanation.

He had never seriously considered that the investigation might continue without his permission.