The person standing in the corner of that windowless room was a woman I had never met, in a dark suit, holding a badge. “Diana,” Preston said quietly, “this is Detective Alvarez. She’s been working a financial crimes case for three weeks. Your sister contacted her before she died.” My legs nearly gave out. I gripped the edge of the table. Rachel hadn’t just gathered evidence and hoped. She had taken it to the police.

Detective Alvarez stepped forward, her expression careful, the way people look when they’re about to hand you something you can’t give back. “Your sister came to us with concerns about the misappropriation of family and company funds,” she said. “She suspected someone close to her was moving money and covering the trail. We opened a case. And then, four days after her last meeting with us, she died.” She let that settle. “The official cause was listed as a sudden cardiac event. But given what your sister documented, and given her age and health, we requested a full toxicology screen. Diana, I need to ask you something, and I need you to think carefully before you answer. When was the last time your sister had dinner at your brother Nathan’s house?”