The hum of my servers had become a lullaby for insomnia. The day had flown by, and it was now past two in the morning, and my office was empty just how I liked it. No distractions. No voices. Just me, the dark, and the blinking code on a sea of black screens. I’ve been chasing ghosts for days, digging through scrubbed government files and corrupt court systems like a dog sniffing through trash. And finally... I found her.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard as the photo loaded. It wasn’t surveillance footage this time. It was a recent video pulled from a content creator’s TikTok page. She was spotted boarding a private plane. From there I followed her trail off a private airport manifest. Video feed from the airport produced a grainy customs shot that I was able to tie to a temporary alias for a woman named,Isla Barrera.
Her face had changed, she was leaner, her hair color had changed, but her eyes still carried that same calculating fire she had in the courtroom. And her signature tilt of the chin, confident. A lawyer’s face if I’d ever seen one. I leaned back, eyes narrowing as the pieces came together. Her trail didn’t stop at the airport either. It led right to the person I hoped it hadn’t
Valdez.
His private data lines were usually locked down tight with the kind of encryption that could make a grown hacker cry. But this time, I had help. Our outside tech from Detroit had slipped me a bug months ago. I'd planted it on a fake real estate site Valdez used to launder funds courtesy of August's real estate system. And now it’s finally paid off. I found a schedule for a contact drop. Sabrina or Isla was scheduled to meet someone in Timberline three days ago.
After a few more clicks of my keyboard and bingo. I got an address. Two blocks from one of the shell properties Kyle’s family had used for years. I cursed under my breath, slamming my palm on the desk. She wasn’t just alive, that bitch was here.
Fuck! I downloaded the proof, locked it behind two layers of encryption, and left my bunker for the first time in twelve hours. It took me an hour to make it back to Crew’s estate, finding it locked down tight like I had left it. I didn’t knock, just used my thumb print to gain access. Besides Crew hadn’t been sleeping either. He was standing by the window, shirtless and drinking straight from the bottle like the glass had done him wrong. His head turned when I came in.
“You look like shit,” he said.
“So do you.” I smirked.
“You got something.” He asked, setting the bottle down.
I handed him the drive.
“This is what I had been working on since we found Nova.”
He slid the USB into the port on the side of the desk monitor. The screen came to life, and within seconds, Sabrina’s customs photo filled the screen. Then the alias and the last known location.
Crew didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. His face was stone, but I saw the twitch in his jaw and the flinch behind his eyes.
“She’s here?” he asked.
“Three days ago. Valdez flew her in under Isla Barrera. She’s tied to a shell company Kyle’s used before. I think they’re working together.”
“You think?” he snapped.
“I don’t know for sure. That’s the problem. The trail goes dark from here on. Whoever’s helping her is good and wiped the rest. I think Valdez brought in a counter-hacker. Better than average but still not better than me. They covered her next movements, but I can find it. But I’ll need time.”
Crew dragged a hand down his face.
“So, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying Sabrina’s alive. I’m saying she may be working with Kyle. And I’m saying we don’t know if she’s a victim still… or a damn asset.”
Crew paced the room like a caged wolf.
“If what you say is true. This only added to my problems. She knows me and how I move.”
“Exactly.”
“Nova can’t know yet.” He said.
“Are you gonna tell her?”
His silence was answer enough. I didn’t push, that wasn’t my lane.
“She’ll find out soon, Crew,” I said. “And when she does, it’ll hurt more if it comes from someone else.”
He nodded slowly, eyes still on the screen.
“You said they’re covering her tracks?” He asked.
