Chapter 7: The Edge of Trust

Ava sat at her kitchen table, the folder of documents spread out before her. The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the refrigerator, but inside her head, a storm was raging. The investigator’s words echoed in her mind, blending with the warning messages and Victoria’s cryptic comments. She felt like she was piecing together a puzzle where every piece seemed to contradict the others. She glanced at her phone, lying on the table beside the folder. She was tempted to call Lucas, to demand an explanation, but she hesitated. Could she trust him to tell the truth? And if he didn’t, was she prepared for what she might find? Ava took a deep breath and focused on the documents before her. She needed to know what she was dealing with. Her eyes scanned the pages—financial statements, email exchanges, transaction records. Some of it was straightforward, but other parts seemed deliberately obscured. The investigator marked a few of the transactions with red flags, indicating they were ques