The roof of the safehouse creaked under the weight of unseen footsteps, the faint beep of a timer slicing through the storm’s howl like a blade. Lena Hart—Eleanor Whitmore—crouched low, her heart hammering, the key to locker 47 and her father’s coded letter pressed against her chest in her jacket, alongside the duffel bag of vault contents: files, recordings, and a USB drive labeled For Ellie.

The message on Riley Kane’s phone—The ledger’s yours if you survive ...