TRIANGLE

TAG #XIII

The tension between Sharon and Ria was palpable as they sat at the café, sipping their drinks. The USB drive they had found weighed heavily in Sharon's pocket. It wasn’t often they felt a case this personal, and the implications of what they had uncovered weren’t easy to ignore.

“Do you think she’ll come?” Ria asked, fidgeting with the spoon in her empty cup.

“She’ll come,” Sharon replied firmly, though the flicker of doubt in her eyes betrayed her unease.

A moment later, the soft chime of the café door drew their attention. Veronica entered, her usual composed demeanor intact, though her eyes darted around cautiously. She spotted them and made her way to the table, sliding into the seat opposite them.

“What is this about?” Veronica asked, her tone sharp but controlled. “I don’t like being summoned out of my house like this.”

“We wouldn’t have called you if it wasn’t important,” Sharon said, placing the USB drive on the table.

“What’s on it?” Veronica asked, her gaze flicking between the two women.

“Something we found while working on another case,” Ria replied. “We don’t want to say too much here. Just take it and see for yourself.”

Veronica’s eyes narrowed as she reached for the USB. “If this is some kind of joke—”

“It’s not,” Sharon interrupted. “You’ll understand when you see it. But be careful. This… this isn’t something you’ll want to ignore.”

Veronica studied their faces for a moment, then slipped the drive into her bag. Without another word, she rose from her seat and walked out of the café, her heels clicking sharply against the tiled floor.

Sharon and Ria exchanged a glance but didn’t say anything. Some things were better left unsaid.

Back at the Rosenthal estate, Veronica shut herself in her office, the world outside her door fading away as she inserted the USB into her laptop. She leaned forward as the screen came to life, displaying a folder filled with documents, images, and cryptic notes.

Her brow furrowed as she opened the first file. It was a photograph—grainy and old—of a man standing beside her father. But what caught her attention was the handwritten note scrawled across the bottom: “Promises broken are debts unpaid.”

She opened more files, each one revealing fragments of a story she had worked hard to forget. Faces she hadn’t seen in years, names she thought had been buried, and hints of events that could unravel everything she had built.

Veronica leaned back in her chair, her gaze falling on the family photo on her desk. Her lips parted slightly as she sighed, her fingers brushing against the frame.

“I’ve worked too hard to let it all fall apart,” she whispered to herself.

But deep down, she knew this was only the beginning.

Meanwhile, Mill was in her office at Rosenthal Industries, reviewing reports when her phone buzzed. She frowned at the unfamiliar number before answering.

“Hello?”

A deep, gravelly voice came through the line. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Mill froze, her grip tightening on the phone. The voice was faintly familiar, but she couldn’t place it. “Who is this?”

The man chuckled softly, a sound that sent chills down her spine. “Let’s just say I’m someone you’ve crossed paths with before. Someone who knows more than you think.”