Chapter 4 The Drive

Lila sat cross-legged on the floor of her apartment, fingers flying over her laptop. The flash drive Damian returned to her-untouched-was plugged in and glowing ominously like it carried a secret too heavy for silence.

Across from her, Theo munched on pizza, his thick-rimmed glasses slipping down his nose. Hacker. Crypto nerd. Her one favor she hadn't burned yet.

"This thing's encrypted with double AES," he muttered. "Whatever's on here, your psycho ex definitely didn't want anyone seeing it."

"He's not my ex," Lila muttered.

"Cool. So he's just a psychopath then."

She rolled her eyes. "Can you crack it or not?"

Theo grinned. "Please. I was decrypting school firewalls in 7th grade."

A few keystrokes later, a video file blinked to life on the screen.

Video Title: "HART LOCK – #2092"

Date: 6 years ago.

It was grainy. Black and white. A hidden security feed.

Her father.

Sitting across from Damian Hart in a dark office.

Lila's heart stopped.

Her father was pale, agitated. His voice was low, but the mic picked up pieces.

> "This isn't what we agreed on."

> "You don't have a choice," Damian replied.

> "My daughters-"

> "Will be safe if you keep your mouth shut."

Lila's throat dried.

"What the hell..." she whispered.

Theo leaned closer. "Your dad was involved with Hart? Like... criminally involved?"

She didn't answer.

The video glitched-and a second voice came into frame. Deeper. Older.

Mr. Locke.

> "If he doesn't play along, we erase him."

The screen froze.

Lila yanked the flash drive out. "Turn it off. Turn it off."

Theo looked rattled. "Lila, whatever this is... it's not just business. It's blood."

She nodded slowly, mind racing.

If Damian had this footage, why hadn't he shown her?

Or worse... had he been blackmailing her father?

She didn't know what the truth was anymore. But she did know one thing:

If she wanted answers, she had to play dirtier