Pressure didn’t break things immediately.
⸻
It revealed them.
⸻
Slowly.
⸻
Precisely.
⸻
And once the cracks appeared—
they didn’t stop spreading.
⸻
⸻
Aaron stared at the screen in front of him.
⸻
Numbers.
Transactions.
Connections.
⸻
What used to be routine reports—
now looked like evidence.
⸻
“Run that again,” he said.
⸻
The analyst beside him nodded quickly.
⸻
A few keystrokes.
⸻
The screen refreshed.
⸻
Highlighted entries reappeared.
⸻
Payments.
⸻
Small at first glance.
⸻
But consistent.
⸻
Patterned.
⸻
Aaron leaned forward slightly.
⸻
“Who is this routed through?” he asked.
⸻
“A shell account,” the analyst replied.
⸻
“A few, actually.”
⸻
A pause.
⸻
“They all trace back to one primary contact.”
⸻
Aaron’s eyes narrowed.
⸻
“Name.”
⸻
The
