The woman did not know whether he was a real investigator.
She only knew that he had frightened her.
Elena feared that the same thing might happen to her if she approached the wrong person.
She needed help from someone who had access to the organization itself.
That was why she had taken the folder to Victor.
It was a dangerous decision.
Victor Moretti was not a hero.
Elena knew that.
She had heard enough stories about him to understand that he had built his reputation through intimidation and ruthless business practices.
But the evidence suggested that someone inside his organization had acted without his knowledge.
If Victor was guilty of everything people said about him, he would destroy the folder and punish anyone who had seen it.
If he was not, he might be the only person capable of stopping the people responsible.
Elena had made her choice.
Now she could only hope she had chosen correctly.
Michael arrived twelve minutes later.
He found Elena standing beside the staff entrance, holding her coat tightly around herself.
He looked at her face.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did anyone follow you?"
"I don't know."
Michael glanced toward the street.
"Get in the car."
They drove to his garage, where the lights remained on above a row of workbenches.
Michael locked the door behind them.
"Show me everything."
Elena opened the encrypted archive on his computer.
Michael read the documents in silence.
When he reached the photograph of Daniel Reed and Anthony Bell, he leaned closer to the screen.
"That's him."
"You recognize Anthony?"
"I've seen him before. He came to the garage last month with a black sedan. He wasn't driving it, and he didn't want anyone asking questions."
"Did he say anything?"
"He asked whether I could remove a tracking device from the car."
Elena stared at him.
"You didn't."
"No. I told him I didn't have the right equipment."
Michael pointed at the photograph.
"The man standing behind him looks familiar too."
Elena enlarged the image.
The second man was partially obscured by a vehicle, but his face was visible enough to recognize.
His name was Paul Danner.
He worked for Victor's security department.
Michael leaned back.
"That's bad."
"How bad?"
"Bad enough that I don't want you going home alone."
Elena looked at the recording file.
"I need to give this to someone who can act on it."
"The police?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Daniel's wife said someone claiming to be an investigator visited her. We don't know who he was."
Michael rubbed his forehead.
"Then we need a real lawyer. Someone outside this city."
"I already contacted one."
Michael looked up sharply.
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"Who?"
"A woman named Sarah Whitmore. She works with a legal organization that helps whistleblowers."
"Does she have the documents?"
"She has an encrypted copy. If I don't check in with her tomorrow, she's supposed to send everything to an investigator she trusts."
Michael slowly nodded.
For the first time that evening, he seemed less worried.
"Good. At least you've thought this through."
"I've had three days to think."
"And how much sleep have you had?"
"Not much."
"Then you need to sit down."
Elena lowered herself into a chair.
Michael made coffee and placed a cup in front of her.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Michael asked the question he had been avoiding.
"Did Victor Moretti threaten you?"
"He asked what he could do to me."
Michael's expression darkened.
"And what did you say?"
"That I knew."
Michael stared at her.
"You told the most dangerous man in the city that you knew what he could do to you?"
"Yes."
"Elena."
"I know."
"No, I don't think you do."
She looked at him.
"Maybe not. But I know what happens to people who keep quiet because they're afraid."
Michael sat down opposite her.
He had heard that sentence before.
Their father had once worked for a company that concealed safety problems to avoid paying for repairs. When he discovered that faulty equipment had injured several workers, he reported the problem.
The company dismissed him.
It spent months trying to discredit his claims.
Their father eventually received an apology, but the stress damaged his health, and the family never recovered financially.
Elena had been seventeen when it happened.
She remembered watching her father sit at the kitchen table with unpaid bills spread in front of him.
He had told her that doing the right thing was not always rewarded.
Then he had added something she had carried with her ever since.
"But if everyone who knows the truth decides to remain silent, the people doing wrong will never have a reason to stop."
Elena looked at the folder on the screen.
"I can't let them blame Daniel for something he didn't do."
Michael reached across the table and covered her hand with his.
"Then we make sure the evidence survives. And we make sure you survive with it."
Neither of them noticed the black car that slowed outside the garage.
It remained parked across the street for nearly four minutes.
Then it drove away.
Chapter 5: The First Warning
The following morning, Victor Moretti arrived at his office before sunrise.
He had slept for less than three hours.
The financial records were spread across his desk. His legal adviser had confirmed that several companies named in the folder had no registered employees, no physical offices, and no meaningful business activity.
The transactions were real.
The companies were not.
Someone had used Victor's legitimate businesses to move money through a network of accounts, making the payments appear to be ordinary operating expenses.
The total amount was far greater than he had expected.
But the money was not the only problem.