"They're going to say the recording you already have is incomplete. Without the raw files, Vale can argue that the footage was altered by someone else."
"Can he prove that?" Mara asked.
"He doesn't need to prove it immediately. He only needs to create enough doubt."
Daniel leaned against the worktable.
"Then we make sure the evidence we have is independently examined."
"By whom?" Peter asked. "A specialist hired by Vale? A lawyer who owes him a favor?"
"Someone with no connection to him," Mara replied.
Peter looked up.
"I know a forensic media analyst who worked with an independent sports integrity commission. I can contact her. But if she confirms the recording is authentic, Vale will still ask where the original files are."
"Then we tell the truth," Mara said. "You retained them. Someone took them. We have the copy you gave us, the documents, and the emails."
"And if that isn't enough?"
"Then it isn't enough. We don't invent anything to fill the gaps."
Peter studied her face.
For the first time since they had met, his expression softened.
"Daniel was right about you."
Mara frowned.
"What did he say?"
Peter glanced at Daniel.
"He said you would rather lose with the truth than win with a lie."
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"I don't remember saying it like that."
"You did," Peter replied. "Years ago."
A sound came from outside.
Tires rolled slowly over gravel.
Peter went rigid.
Daniel moved toward the entrance.
"Don't," Mara said.
They waited.
A door opened. Footsteps crossed the gravel.
Peter's face had gone pale.
"Who is it?" Daniel called.
A man's voice answered.
"Facility management. We need to verify access to this unit."
Peter stared at Mara.
"That's not how they do inspections."
Mara reached for her phone and began recording.
Daniel opened the door only a few inches.
He wore no visible identification.
"Can I see your authorization?" Daniel asked.
The man looked past him into the unit.
"We received a report of unauthorized material being stored here."
"What material?"
"Records related to a pending legal matter."
Daniel did not move.
"Then contact the person who filed the report. We aren't discussing private property with someone who can't identify himself."
The man's expression tightened.
"You should be careful about interfering with an investigation."
"And you should be careful about pretending to conduct one."
The man took a step backward.
His eyes shifted toward Mara's phone.
"Have a good afternoon," he said.
He walked away without another word.
They watched him leave.
"That's it," he whispered. "That's what I was afraid of."
Mara stopped recording.
"No," she said. "That's what we needed to know."
Daniel looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Someone is worried about the evidence. And they're worried enough to take risks."
She turned toward Peter.
"From now on, no more private meetings without witnesses. No more single copies. Everything goes to independent counsel, and every transfer is documented."
Peter nodded slowly.
Mara slipped her phone into her pocket.
The missing drive was a serious problem. It might have made the truth impossible to deny.
But its disappearance also revealed something else.
Richard Vale was no longer simply preparing a public narrative.
He was reacting to the possibility that he could lose control of it.
And for the first time in five years, Mara felt that the balance of power had begun to shift.
By the following morning, the first article appeared.
It was published on a sports entertainment website owned by a media company that frequently covered events sponsored by Richard Vale.
The headline read:
FORMER CONTENDER RETURNS AMID CONTROVERSY: QUESTIONS EMERGE OVER MARA ELLISON'S PAST
It did not need to. Its carefully chosen phrases suggested all three.
Anonymous sources described her as "difficult to work with." An unnamed former associate claimed she had left the sport after a disagreement over safety protocols.
It included a photograph of Mara standing over Ronan Pike after their first grappling round.
The caption described the image as evidence of "an aggressive confrontation that has divided the academy."
Mara read the article once.
Then she closed it.
Across the room, Adrian Cross was pacing with his phone pressed to his ear. Ronan stood beside the windows, his arms folded tightly across his chest.
Victor Sloane entered carrying a printed copy.
"This is deliberate," he said.
"No argument there," Adrian replied, ending his call. "The publication is connected to the same consultancy that received payments before the old incident."
"Connected isn't the same as controlled," Victor said.
"No, but it gives us a trail to investigate."
Felix dropped the article onto the table.
"They make it sound like Mara came here to humiliate us."
Ronan's jaw tightened.
"They're using our first day as the story."
"Not just our first day," Mara said.
Everyone turned.
She had entered quietly, carrying a small notebook.
"They're trying to make the truth look like revenge. If I say anything about the old footage, they'll claim I'm only trying to punish Vale because I lost my career."