Ava drove to Ethan’s office with her thoughts racing, the city lights blurring past in streaks of gold and red. The weight of what she was beginning to uncover pressed heavily on her chest. Josh’s scandal wasn’t just a reckless mistake—it was a setup. And the note, the one that looked like her father’s handwriting, had arrived just as she was beginning to untangle Ethan’s case. The connections were too sharp, too precise to ignore.

  By the time she arrived at Ethan’s office, he was already waiting for her, standing in the dimly lit lobby with his hands in his pockets. He looked tense.

  “This late-night meeting better be worth it,” she muttered as she walked past him into his office.

  Ethan shut the door behind them. “Trust me, it is.” He gestured for her to sit, but she remained standing, arms crossed.

  “What do you know about Calloway?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

  Ethan exhaled, leaning against his desk. “Enough to know he’s dangerous. He has ties to Cole Industries, but more than that—he has a history of orchestrating downfalls when they benefit him.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Ava nodded, her mind working at full speed. “Josh’s scandal isn’t just about him partying too hard. Someone drugged him, Ethan. Someone made sure it got out the way it did. Calloway was there that night.”

  Ethan’s jaw tightened. “That’s not surprising.” He hesitated before adding, “Ava, your father had dealings with Calloway too.”

  Her stomach dropped. “What?”

  Ethan reached into a drawer, pulling out a folder. “I started looking into Calloway when my case started to get complicated. This—” he slid the folder toward her, “—this is from years ago. Your father represented a client who was up against Calloway. The case was buried, disappeared overnight. Your father stopped talking about it after that.”

  Ava flipped through the pages, her pulse pounding in her ears. Legal briefs, meeting transcripts, pieces of a story that had never been told. Her father had fought against Calloway… and lost.

  Then she saw it. A handwritten note in the margins of one of the documents.

  Win this one for me.

  The same words. The same handwriting as the note she had received.

  Ava’s hands trembled slightly as she looked up. “This is my father’s handwriting.”

  Ethan’s eyes darkened. “Then someone wants you to pick up where he left off.”

  The weight of it settled over her like a vice. If Calloway had been involved in her father’s past, if he was now connected to Ethan’s case and to Josh’s scandal… this wasn’t just about a smear campaign. This was something deeper, something personal.

  She looked at Ethan. “If Calloway is behind this, then I’m not just defending Josh or working Ethan’s case anymore.” She swallowed hard. “I’m going after him.”

  Ethan studied her for a long moment before nodding. “Then let’s make sure we don’t lose.”