My mother humiliated my wife on our son’s first birthday, forcing her to serve everyone while caring for our sick baby.

We managed to get through dinner with a practiced facade. We laughed at the right times, we praised the garlic knots, and we talked about Frederick’s new obsession with building blocks. Amy didn’t notice anything wrong, or if she did, she kindly attributed it to work fatigue. But beneath the table, my leg was bouncing, and Julian’s eyes kept darting to the pocket of his jacket.

As soon as Amy went upstairs to draw a bath, I grabbed Julian by the arm and pulled him into the attached garage. The air out here was freezing, a sharp contrast to the warmth of the house, but it matched the ice in my veins.

"Give it to me," I demanded, holding out my hand.

Julian handed over the black burner phone. It had stopped ringing during dinner, but the screen now displayed a single unread text message. My thumb hovered over the unlock button. I had promised Amy no more secrets. I had promised honest foundations. But looking at this piece of plastic, I knew opening it would drag me back into the dirt.

"Open it," Julian urged quietly. "We need to know who found us."

I swiped the screen. The message was short, devoid of punctuation, and utterly terrifying.

The feds only locked away what they found. I know what you kept. Midnight. The old railyard.

I stared at the glowing pixels. My breathing hitched.

"What does it say?" Julian asked, stepping closer.

"Someone knows about the Zurich Ledger," I whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

Julian physically recoiled, his face draining of color. "No. You told me you destroyed that. You told me and Amy that everything was handed over to the Attorney General!"

"I lied," I admitted, the shame burning hot in my chest. "It was the only piece of leverage I kept. An insurance policy. If the federal deal fell through, I needed a way to protect my family. I encrypted it and buried it."

"If someone knows you have it, you aren't protecting your family," Julian snapped, running a hand through his hair. "You just painted a massive target on their backs. Who could possibly know?"