ETHAN'S POV
The hum of the car was a quiet companion as I drove through the outskirts of the city, far from the comfort of our home.
I had told Ava I needed a few hours to follow up on a potential lead. I hadn't told her everything, not yet. Not until I was certain.
The contact I was meeting had been reluctant at first. They worked in one of the audit divisions tied to Ava's foundation, anonymously, discreetly, but something about the documents they reviewed hadn't added up.
They reached out once before, and now, with the whistleblower threat still hanging over us, I had to chase every thread.
My phone buzzed. A message from Melanie.
"Internal reports haven't shown signs of tampering yet, but we're still reviewing cross-year entries. Be careful."
Be careful.
It rang like an echo in my head. Everyone had been telling me that lately.
