Every time, the same sentence.
The leader is someone you trust.
She looked at Henry.
“Who?”
He shook his head.
“We don't know.”
“But Richard did.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he say?”
“Because he wanted you to figure it out.”
Naomi looked at the screen.
“Why would he make me solve a puzzle?”
“Because whoever controlled Northstar was close to him.”
“Close to my mother.”
“Yes.”
“Close to my father.”
“Yes.”
She thought about the people who had helped her.
James.
Henry.
Thomas.
Then Victor.
Her stomach tightened.
“Could it be you?”
Henry didn't react.
Naomi watched him.
“Could you be the person Richard meant?”
“No.”
“You expect me to trust that?”
“No.”
“Then prove it.”
Henry nodded.
He placed his phone on the table.
“Search my accounts.”
Naomi looked surprised.
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
She searched.
No hidden transfers.
No shell companies.
No connection to Northstar.
But then she found something.
A payment.
Twenty years old.
$250,000.
Recipient:
Mei Lin.
Naomi looked at Henry.
“Your sister.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you pay her?”
“To help her disappear.”
Naomi stared.
“She was alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Henry looked away.
“I don't know.”
“You paid her to disappear?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She was being hunted.”
“By Victor?”
“Yes.”
Henry's face hardened.
“My sister discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That Samuel Cross wasn't dead.”
Naomi froze.
“Who is Samuel Cross?”
Henry looked at her.
“The original founder of Northstar.”
“But Thomas said—”
“Thomas lied.”
“Why?”
“Because Samuel was standing beside him when he said it.”
Naomi stared.
“Thomas works for Samuel.”
Henry nodded.
They found Thomas that night.
He was waiting in an abandoned church.
Naomi walked toward him.
“You lied.”
Thomas looked tired.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect Samuel.”
“Who is he?”
Thomas remained silent.
“Who is Samuel Cross?”
The old man sighed.
“Your father knew him.”
“Richard?”
“Yes.”
“What was their relationship?”
“They were partners.”
“In Northstar?”
“No.”
“In something worse.”
Naomi waited.
Thomas whispered:
“They were investigators.”
“Investigators?”
“Richard and Samuel were trying to expose corruption inside the company.”
“Then why did Samuel become the villain?”
“He didn't.”
“Then who did?”
Thomas looked toward the church doors.
A man stood there.
Henry.
But behind him was someone else.
An old woman.
Naomi recognized her from the photograph.
Mei Lin.
Henry's sister.
Naomi stared.
“You're alive.”
Mei smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
She walked forward.
“Your mother saved my life.”
Naomi looked at her.
“How?”
“By taking the blame for something I did.”
“What?”
Mei sat down.
“I stole the Northstar ledger.”
Naomi's heart raced.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
Mei looked at Thomas.
Then at Henry.
Finally, she looked at Naomi.
“You have it.”
Naomi frowned.
“What?”
“The ledger isn't a book.”
She pointed toward Naomi's necklace.
Naomi touched it.
“My necklace?”
Mei nodded.
“Your mother gave you that when you were six.”
“Yes.”
“Open it.”
Naomi removed the necklace.
The pendant was small.
Silver.
She had worn it since childhood.
Henry found a tiny seam.
The pendant opened.
Inside was a microfilm strip.
Naomi stared.
“My mother…”
Mei nodded.
“She hid the entire ledger inside your necklace.”
The following morning, Naomi took the microfilm to a secure laboratory.
The information was extraordinary.
Thousands of names.
Payments.
Accounts.
Politicians.
Judges.
Developers.
Lawyers.
Corporate executives.
And one name appeared more often than any other.
Victor Hale.
But Victor wasn't the final name.
At the very end was another.
SAMUEL CROSS.
Naomi stared.
“What does that mean?”
Mei looked at the screen.
“It means Samuel wasn't hiding from Northstar.”
“He was Northstar.”
“No.”
Mei shook her head.
“He created it.”
Naomi frowned.
“Then Richard was wrong.”
“No.”
Mei pointed to another column.
“Look.”
Naomi zoomed in.
There were two sets of accounts.
One labeled:
NORTHSTAR — CONTROL
The other:
NORTHSTAR — COUNTERMEASURES
Mei said:
“Samuel created Northstar.”
Naomi stared.
“Then he created the second network to destroy the first.”
“Exactly.”
“And Victor?”
“Victor took control of the first.”
Naomi felt dizzy.
“So Samuel isn't the villain.”
“He isn't innocent either.”
“What does he want?”
Mei looked at her.
“To finish what he started.”
That evening, Victor appeared at Naomi's apartment.
He stood across the street.
He did not approach.
Instead, he called.
Naomi answered.
“You know where I live.”
“I always did.”
“Why are you watching me?”
“Because you have something I need.”
“The ledger.”
“Yes.”
“You'll never get it.”
Victor laughed.
“You sound like your mother.”
“You killed her.”
“No.”
“You knew she was going to die.”
“Yes.”
“That's enough.”
Victor became silent.
Then he said:
“Your mother wasn't killed because she discovered Northstar.”
Naomi frowned.
“Then why?”
“She discovered who Northstar was built to protect.”
“Who?”
Victor's voice became almost a whisper.
“You.”