Elena’s POV
I woke to an empty bed again.
The sheets on Adrian’s side were cool. Soft blue light from his phone cut across the living room. He sat on the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees, scrolling with his jaw locked.
I walked over barefoot and sat beside him. He didn’t look up right away. When he did, the tiredness in his eyes ran deeper than usual.
“Forensic team already has traces,” he said. “The trust payment was only the most recent. Older transfers — smaller, quieter — going back almost a year. Different shells. Same pattern.”
I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. “Richard?”
“Some still carry his authorization. Others don’t. Someone else has been feeding the same network.”
Thin lines of city light stretched across the floor through the drawn shades. I st
