Chapter 10 · The Debt Has Another Name

The hospital corridor smells like disinfectant and bad coffee. I'm standing outside Archer's room with his phone still warm in my pocket. The nurses think I went to get breakfast. I didn't.

I went to his penthouse.

The security code was the same as last life. He never changed it. Sentimental or careless, doesn't matter. I'm in his study now, door locked, curtains drawn. His laptop sits on the mahogany desk like it's waiting for me.

I plug in the USB drive Claire gave me last week. The one that cracks passwords.

Two minutes. That's all it takes.

His files open like a gift I don't want. Spreadsheets. Transfer records. Offshore accounts with names I don't recognize. I scroll fast, looking for my family's name. Su Holdings. Su Real Estate. Anything.

There.

A folder labeled "WX Project."

My initials.

I click it. My hand's shaking. I hate that it's shaking.

Inside are documents dated three months before my family went bankrupt. Purchase orders. Loan agreements. A shell company called Morningstar Capital that funneled money into my father's failing hotels. I remember those loans. Dad said they were a lifeline.