Digging Deeper

Dominic wastes no time. As soon as Adrian’s files come through, he dives into them, scanning blueprints and security logs with surgical precision. I join him at the dining table, Lena’s notes spread out beside my laptop. The room feels like a war room—quiet except for the faint hum of electronics and the occasional scrape of a chair as Dominic shifts positions.

“He’s moving fast,” Dominic mutters, tapping on a blueprint. “This facility was set up less than a year ago, and it’s already running at full capacity. Reyes knew exactly what he was doing.”

I lean over to look at the screen. The layout of the facility is sprawling, with multiple warehouses and a central hub markedAdmin.“If this is his staging ground, the admin building might hold the records we need—shipping manifests, communication logs, anything that could give us a clearer picture of his plans.”

Dominic nods. “We’ll need to get inside without raising alarms. Reyes will have eyes on this place.”

“Do you think he knows we’re onto him?” I ask.

“He knows,” Dominic replies grimly. “But he doesn’t know how close we are.”

A sharp knock at the door interrupts us. Dominic tenses, his hand instinctively reaching for his gun.

“It’s Lena,” I say, standing to answer the door.

Lena steps inside, clutching a file folder to her chest. Her face is pale, her eyes rimmed with exhaustion. “I found something,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

Dominic motions for her to sit as I guide her to the table. “What is it?” I ask, glancing at the folder.

She opens it with trembling hands, revealing a series of photographs and documents. “These are from a friend of mine—a journalist who’s been investigating corporate corruption. Hedidn’t want to get involved directly, but he passed these to me when he heard what’s happening in Harbor Springs.”

The photos show crates being loaded onto unmarked trucks, their sides emblazoned with a small but distinct logo:Reyes Industries.

“These were taken at a dock outside Chicago,” Lena explains. “The shipments match the manifests I flagged in my earlier research. He’s moving something—something big.”

Dominic studies the photos, his jaw tightening. “This confirms Adrian’s intel. The docks are a secondary hub, likely where the explosives are being staged before transport.”

“Do you think that’s the target?” I ask.

Dominic shakes his head. “No. It’s too exposed. Reyes wouldn’t risk staging an attack there.”

Lena looks between us, her brow furrowing. “What are you saying?”

Dominic’s voice is cold, calculated. “He’s planning something much bigger. And the docks are just the beginning.”

The Plan

By the time Adrian arrives, the pieces are starting to fall into place. He strides into the penthouse, his laptop in hand, and sets up at the dining table without preamble.

“I pulled everything I could find on the industrial site and the docks,” he says, opening a file on his screen. “Reyes has been using both locations to move materials through his shell companies. If we hit the docks, we might disrupt his supply chain, but it won’t be enough to stop him.”

“We’re not just disrupting,” Dominic says. “We’re shutting him down.”

Adrian nods. “The industrial site is the linchpin. If we can get in and extract the records from the admin hub, we’ll have enough to dismantle his operation piece by piece.”

“It’s a risk,” I say, my voice wavering slightly.

“It’s the only move we’ve got,” Dominic counters, his gaze locking onto mine. “Reyes has been one step ahead this entire time. If we don’t act now, he’ll bury us.”

I take a deep breath, steadying myself. “What do you need me to do?”

Dominic’s expression softens slightly. “I need you to stay here, Eva. This isn’t a safe play.”

“No,” I say firmly. “I’m not sitting on the sidelines while you go into danger alone. I can help.”

“She’s right,” Adrian says reluctantly. “We need someone on the outside to monitor communications. If Reyes catches wind of this, Eva can alert us before we walk into a trap.”