When nothing goes right, turn left

Names that shouldn't exit

Veronica sat beside Alex in the dim back room of the records office, the only light coming from the flickering fluorescent bulb overhead.

Alex flipped through old transaction logs, fingers steady, scanning each page with practiced precision.

"R.T. had power," he murmured. "Whoever they are, they had enough pull to sign off on agreements that mattered."

Veronica swallowed hard, her hands tightening around the latest document they uncovered.

A signature.

R.T. — inked at the bottom of an old property transfer.

"They weren't just someone Smith knew," she muttered. "They owned something. Something they didn't want on public record."

Alex narrowed his eyes, flipping to the next page.

Then—he stopped.

Veronica leaned in, heart hammering.

Another signature.

Another transfer.

But this time, the property wasn't just land.

It was a person's name.

Her mother's name.

Veronica's breath hitched.

"Hilary was transferred?" Alex muttered, voice tight. "Like she wasn't just moving—she was legally moved."

The air shifted.

Veronica's pulse pounded.

This wasn't just about Smith.

This wasn't just about R.T.

This was about her mother.

And suddenly, Veronica realized—Hilary hadn't just made a deal. She had been owned by it.

Veronica slammed the folder onto the kitchen table, the documents fanned out like shattered pieces of something she should have seen long ago.

Hilary barely blinked.

"You want to explain why your name is tied to a legal transfer?" Veronica demanded, voice sharp.

Hilary exhaled slowly, setting her coffee cup down. "You're exhausting, Veronica."

"I'm exhausting?" Veronica's chest tightened. "Your name was signed into a deal you never told me about. What were you transferred for?"

Hilary studied her, expression unreadable.

"It doesn't concern you."

Veronica laughed, bitter and cold.

"That's interesting, considering Smith died investigating me. Considering my name was dragged into a mystery that started before I even knew it existed."

Hilary's gaze flickered.

For the first time, a crack.

"Whatever arrangement existed," Hilary said carefully, "it ended a long time ago."

Veronica's pulse pounded. "Then why is my name still in Smith's investigation?"

Hilary's jaw tightened.

And suddenly, Veronica knew—her mother wasn't just hiding the past. She was terrified of it.

"You're in over your head," Hilary murmured. "Walk away before you can't."

Veronica swallowed hard.

She wasn't walking away.

She was going deeper.