Dorian sat behind the wheel, his attention fixed on the road, while Brielle remained in the passenger seat with the folder resting on her lap.
Neither of them had said much since leaving the office.
The message had unsettled them, but it was the missing records that weighed more heavily on Dorian’s mind.
Someone had known exactly what they were searching for and had removed the evidence before they could reach it.
That could not have been a coincidence.
Brielle broke the silence.
“What if the records were never removed today?” Dorian glanced at her.
“What do you mean?” “The message said they were removed this morning.
But whoever sent it wanted us to believe that.” She looked down at the folder.
“What if the records were moved earlier, and the person who sent the message simply knew where they had been taken?” Dorian considered it.
“Then we’d have to find out who had access to them.” “Exactly.” He nodded slowly.
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll have the archive access logs checked.” Brielle looked at him.
“Without alerting anyone?” “Without alerting anyone.” A faint silence followed.
“You know,” Dorian said eventually, “you’ve been doing this for almost two days without complaining once.” Brielle looked out of the window.
“There hasn’t been much time to complain.” Despite himself, Dorian almost smiled.
“Most people would have walked away by now.” “I’m not most people.” The answer was so matter-of-fact that it caught him off guard.
He glanced at her again, and for a moment he found himself wondering what kind of life had taught her to be this persistent.
He knew almost nothing about her beyond what she had shown him during these few days, yet there were moments when she seemed far more complicated than the woman he had initially assumed she was.
Brielle noticed his glance.
“What?” “Nothing.” She studied him for a second before turning back toward the window.
Neither of them noticed the car that had remained several vehicles behind them for most of the journey.
When they finally arrived home, the lights from the house were still on.
Ms.
Nancy opened the door before they could reach it, her expression immediately easing when she saw them.
“Finally,” she said.
“I was beginning to think you two had decided to spend the entire night at the office.” Brielle smiled faintly.
“It almost happened.” Ms.
Nancy shook her head.
“Well, the babies certainly don’t care about your business crisis.
They have been waiting for their mother.” Brielle’s expression softened instantly.
She handed the folder to Dorian and went inside, where Ms.
Nancy led her toward the room.
Dorian remained in the entrance for a moment, watching her disappear down the hallway.
The exhaustion on her face had been obvious, yet the moment she heard about the children, it had vanished beneath something warmer.
He looked down at the folder in his hands.
For some reason, the sight had stayed with him.
“Mr.
Dorian?” He looked up.
Ms.
Nancy was watching him.
“You coming inside?” “Yes.” He followed her, but his mind remained elsewhere.
Later that night, after Brielle had settled the children and Ms.
Nancy had gone to her room, Dorian returned to the study.
The house had fallen quiet, and for the first time all day he had enough silence to think.
He opened the folder again.
The old company.
The authorization code.
The suspicious payments.
The missing records.
The anonymous message.
Everything seemed connected, yet the moment they reached one point in the trail, the evidence disappeared.
Dorian leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
He had built Wolfe Enterprises from nothing.
Five years of decisions, risks, sleepless nights and sacrifices had gone into creating the company.
He knew its systems, its contracts and its people.
Yet someone had managed to operate within it without being noticed for far too long.
That thought frightened him more than he wanted to admit.
A soft knock interrupted him.
He opened his eyes.
Brielle stood at the doorway.
“You should be sleeping,” he said.
“So should you.” She walked in and placed a glass of water on the desk before pulling the chair opposite him.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Dorian looked at her.
“Why?” “Because I keep thinking about the message.” “So do I.” Brielle rested her hands on the folder.
“I don’t think whoever sent it wanted us to stop investigating.” Dorian waited.
“I think they wanted to see what we’d do after reading it.” His expression sharpened.
“You’re saying it was a test?” “Maybe.” She looked down at the papers.
“If they are watching us, then every move we make gives them information.” Dorian slowly nodded.
“And if that’s true, we need to stop reacting to what they do.” “Exactly.” “We need to make them react to us.” Brielle looked up.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Dorian reached for a blank sheet of paper.
“Tomorrow, we don’t search for the records.” Brielle understood immediately.
“We make someone think we’re searching somewhere else.” A faint smile touched her face.
“Now you’re thinking.” Dorian looked at her, and despite everything weighing on him, he found himself smiling too.
For the first time that night, the investigation didn’t feel completely hopeless.They still had less than a day.
They still didn’t know who was behind the scheme.
And they still had no idea how much evidence had already been destroyed.
But they finally had a way to make the person watching them reveal themselves.
Neither of them noticed the faint glow of Dorian’s phone on the desk.
A new message had appeared.
You should have stopped looking.