Chapter 1226

Her dad had tried to talk her around too, hoping she'd finally see the bigger picture.

Cassandra let out a shaky breath. “Fiona, I swear, if I could have saved my family's company, I would've done it ages ago. There's just nothing left I can do."

Josefina shot her a cold look. "You're still making excuses? I get that you need money, but that doesn't mean you can use me."

"You're right. You're totally right. I know I messed up, and I've thought long and hard about it. If I make it out of this in one piece, I promise, you'll never see me again. I'll go back overseas and stay there for good."

She slid a USB drive across the table toward Josefina. "My dad put everything together. It's all on here. I hope it helps."

Josefina blinked, genuinely surprised by how thorough Cassandra had been. Since everything was laid out and handed over, she didn't hesitate to take it.

"If you're giving it to me, I'll take it," Josefina said.

She pulled on a pair of gloves, slipped the USB into a little bag, then tucked it into her purse. She did it all right in front of Cassandra, not bothering to hide a thing.

Cassandra's mouth twitched. "Are you worried we put poison on the USB or something?"

"You never know," Josefina replied coolly. "Better safe than sorry."

Cassandra didn't have a comeback for that—just forced a stiff smile. "Whatever you say. You're right."

Josefina raised an eyebrow. Wow. Cassandra had really learned to bite her tongue and play nice. She was clearly spooked by everything that had happened.

Josefina stood up to leave, and Cassandra jumped to her feet too, panic flickering in her eyes.

"Josefina, you can't just walk out like that."

Josefina paused. "I'm taking what you gave me. I'll check if it's legit. If it is, you have my word—I'll keep my promise."

Cassandra managed a bitter smile. She'd already handed over everything. From here on out, it was all up to Josefina.

The power was in Josefina's hands now. Cassandra and her family were basically fish on a chopping block, waiting for Josefina to decide their fate.

There was nothing left for Cassandra to do but wait and pray for good news.

Josefina left, evidence in hand, and went straight to find a computer. She picked an old laptop she didn't use anymore so if it caught a virus, she wouldn't care.

She'd thought about going to an internet café, but if there was something shady on the drive and she crashed the whole network, that would be a nightmare.

She plugged in the USB. It was packed with tiles-everything laid out, from how those people tracked them down to all the benefits they'd promised. Every chat log was е screenshotted and pasted, easy read Josefing went through it all, piecing together the story.

Her phone buzzed. It was Luke.

She answered. "Yeah?"

"Boss, I looked into what Lucy said. Turns out every year a few kids

from that orphanage get picked. They say it's for adoption, but after that there's no trace of them it's like they just disappear."

Josefina frowned. "And what does Lucy say about it?”

"She doesn't know much. She just knows that after she was chosen, she was taken to some secret facility for training. After that, they sent her to Westwood as a contact.

She's got no idea what

the others opene

None them keep in

touch—once you leave that place, you're on your own. No one knows where anyone else ends up."

Josefina let out a slow breath. "There's so much darkness hiding in plain sight. If we

can drag whoever's behind this into the light, we could save a lot of innocent

people."