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505 The invitation arrived on a Thursday morning, embossed with the elegant silver crest of the Caldwell family. Adrian left it on the kitchen counter without saying a word, as though the thick envelope carried no more significance than a grocery receipt. / Chapter 5 / 6

Chapter 6 - The Decryption

It was 3:00 AM by the time I was discharged from the Napa County Hospital.

I had six black sutures neatly holding the skin near my temple together. The physical pain was a dull, rhythmic throb, but my mind was completely clear. I refused to go back to the Napa estate, and I knew Adrian’s family would have already locked me out of our shared city apartment.

I took a cab straight to my Mission Bay condo—the one sanctuary they could not touch.

The high-rise building was quiet. I walked into my living room, the city lights of San Francisco glittering through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long, blue shadows across the hardwood. I was home.

I sat down at my desk, my hands shaking slightly as I opened my laptop.

I pulled the black flash drive from my pocket. It was unmarked, simple, and slightly scratched. I plugged it into the USB port.

A prompt immediately popped up on the screen:

DRIVE ENCRYPTED. ENTER PASSWORD.

My heart sank. I tried entering Adrian’s birthdate. Incorrect. I tried the name of their family estate. Incorrect. I tried the name of their primary holding company, Caldwell Ventures. Incorrect.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed on the desk. It was an unknown number.

I picked it up, my voice a whisper. "Hello?"

"Ashley," a trembling voice breathed on the other end. It was Maya. "Are you safe?"

"I’m at my condo, Maya," I said, leaning forward. "The drive is encrypted. I don't know the password."

"Of course it is," Maya whispered, her voice laced with sheer terror. "If they find out I took it, they’ll destroy me, Ashley. They did it to her, and they’ll do it to me."

"Did it to who, Maya? Who are you talking about?"

"Thomas's first wife," Maya whispered, her voice cracking. "Ten years ago. Her name was Clara. They told everyone she died in a tragic skiing accident in Switzerland. But she didn't. She was going to expose them, and they... they silenced her."

A cold chill ran down my spine. "What is on this drive, Maya?"

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"The financial records of their winery," Maya said. "And the personal journal of Clara. The password is the date she disappeared. October 14, 2016. Format it as digits: 10142016. Please, Ashley... keep it safe. If they find you with it, they will make sure you never speak again."

The line went dead.

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