The moment I stepped through the front door, I barely had time to close it behind me before Val was already there.
"You're back," she said, grabbing my wrist. Not rough—urgent. Focused. "Come look at this."
I blinked. "Uh… okay?"
She didn't wait for another word. Just turned and headed straight for the stairs. I followed, briefcase still in my hand, my jacket half undone.
Her office light was already on when she walked in. Laptop open. Papers spread neatly across her desk. Too neatly. That alone told me she'd been at this for a while.
She pointed at the screen. "I found files tied to a company called FreeGain Investment Enterprise."
My steps slowed.
Of course she did.
I kept my face neutral as I leaned closer. "FreeGain?"
She nodded. "It kept coming up in older internal records. Not big transfers—small ones. Spread out. Easy to ignore." She looked up at me. "But they don't make sense."
I exhaled quietly. "They don't exist."
Her brows pulled together. "What?"
