Two hours later, Mina Asari closed her office door and locked it behind her.
She moved like someone carrying glass—silent, careful, and dangerous when dropped. The office was pristine, save for the manila folder sitting on her desk. A red wax seal held it closed, stamped with a symbol older than Voss International itself: a wolf devouring its tail.
It was a message.
She peeled it open with a letter opener shaped like a dagger. Inside: photographs.
Alex. Claire. The safehouse in Amalfi.
The date on the photo? Two weeks after Claire's disappearance. Two weeks after she was presumed dead.
Mina's breath slowed.
She reached for her encrypted phone and dialed a number stored only in memory. When the line clicked, she said, "Phase One is ready."
A pause.
Then the voice: "Voss suspects?"
"Of course. He's hunting for a traitor."
"And?"
"I'll give him one."
She hung up.
Mina turned to the massive digital map on her wall—lines of influence stretching from Silicon Valley to Saudi royals to silent investors in Macau. She pressed her palm to the screen and whispered, "Initiate proxy sale—Division Three. Leak contained."
A green light blinked.
One of Voss's most profitable subsidiaries would be sold in under ten hours. A shell company would scoop it up. And when the smoke cleared, Mina Asari would be the one standing over the ashes, not in them.
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