Norman stood several feet away, his expression unusually serious.
His gaze moved between Dorian and Brielle before settling on Dorian again.For a moment, Dorian simply stared at him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
Norman glanced toward the building behind them.
“I came to find you.” “Why?” “I found something.” Dorian’s expression tightened.
“What?” Norman looked around the nearly empty entrance before lowering his voice.
“Not here.” Brielle studied him.
Something about the urgency in his voice made her uneasy.
“If it’s connected to the investigation,” she said, “you can tell us.” Norman looked at her for a moment before nodding.”It is.” Dorian folded his arms.
“Then talk.” Norman reached into his coat and pulled out a thin folder.”I found this among some of the older administrative records.” Dorian took it and opened it.Brielle stepped closer.The first few pages were ordinary—old correspondence, supplier information and payment records.
But then she saw it.Her eyes narrowed.”The company.” Dorian looked down at the page.It was the same company they had been tracing since the beginning of the investigation.Norman nodded.
“I recognized the name after hearing what you were investigating.” Dorian turned another page.Then another.His expression gradually hardened.There were payment references and supplier details spanning several years.
Some of the dates corresponded with the suspicious transactions they had already uncovered.Brielle reached for one of the pages.”Look at this.” Dorian leaned closer.She pointed to a series of authorization references.”The same pattern.” Dorian’s eyes moved across the page.She was right.The authorization code they had spent days tracing appeared again.Norman looked between them.
“What does that mean?” “It means this wasn’t something that started recently,” Dorian said.
“Whatever happened at Wolfe Enterprises has been going on for much longer than we thought.” Brielle turned another page.Then stopped.”What?” Dorian noticed her expression.She pointed to a date.”This transaction happened after the company was supposedly closed.” Silence followed.Norman’s brows furrowed.”That’s impossible.” “Apparently not,” Brielle said.
Dorian took the document from her and examined it carefully.The company had officially disappeared from the records years ago.Yet someone had continued using its details.Someone had kept the trail alive.And now they had proof.
For the first time that evening, Dorian felt as though they had finally found something substantial.Then Norman spoke.”There is something else.” Dorian looked up.”What?” Norman reached into his coat again and pulled out a small envelope.”I found this inside the folder.” Dorian took it.There was no name on the front.No address.Nothing.He opened it carefully and pulled out a single sheet of paper.His eyes moved across the page.His expression changed.Brielle noticed immediately.”What does it say?” Dorian handed it to her.She read the words.You are looking in the wrong place.Her eyes remained on the message for several seconds.Norman looked confused.”What does that mean?” Brielle slowly lowered the paper.”I don’t know.” Dorian took it back.Someone had left them a message.Someone knew they were searching.And someone wanted them to believe they were looking in the wrong place.Dorian’s phone suddenly vibrated.He checked the screen.His expression tightened.”What is it?” Brielle asked.
He showed her.Another transaction attempt had just been made.This time, it wasn’t connected to the dormant account they had been examining.It was another company account.Brielle stared at the screen.”They’re moving again.” Dorian nodded.Norman looked between them, clearly struggling to understand what he had walked into.”How much time do you have?” Dorian looked at him.”Less than a day.” Norman’s expression fell.Brielle glanced at the folder in Dorian’s hand, then at the transaction on his phone.They had finally found records connecting the old company to the scheme.Yet instead of bringing them closer to the person responsible, the discovery had created another problem.Someone knew they were investigating.Someone was still inside the system.And they were running out of time.