Four little boys in matching navy uniforms walked into a restaurant bathroom hours before my million-dollar engagement. Five minutes later, I stared into four identical versions of my own face.

"You are not going to the shipyards," Mara said, her voice leaving no room for argument. "It's an obvious kill box. You show up with the Ledger, he shoots you, and then he comes for us anyway to tie up loose ends."

"She's right, Julian," Silas agreed, loading a fresh magazine into his rifle. "Victor doesn't leave survivors. If you hand over the drive, you're just giving him his power back."

"I don't have a choice!" I yelled, slamming my fist onto the metal table. "If he thinks I'm stalling, he will find this bunker. You know he will!"

Mara walked over to me, grabbing my face in both of her hands, forcing me to look at her. "Listen to me. We are going to get the Ledger. But we are not giving it to him. We are going to use it to destroy him. My father’s corporate security team can be mobilized in an hour. We go to Vance Industries, we extract the drive, and we decrypt it to send to the FBI."

"If we decrypt it, Victor goes to prison forever, and the billions are seized," Silas noted, a slow, predatory smile forming on his face. "It's the nuclear option."

"Exactly," Mara said fiercely.

Within an hour, we were in the back of an armored transport van driving through the rain-slicked streets of the city. Silas and his men rode up front. We left the quadruplets at the bunker with Mara’s father, Richard, who had arrived heavily armed and furious.

Vance Industries was a towering glass skyscraper in the financial district. Because it was Sunday night, the building was mostly empty, save for the skeleton crew of security guards.

Mara used her executive override keycard to bypass the lobby checkpoints. We moved quickly to the private elevator that led down to the subterranean levels. The descent felt like sinking into a tomb.

When the elevator doors opened on sub-level three, the air was freezing. The massive, circular titanium door of the corporate vault loomed at the end of the hallway.

"Open it," I told Mara.

She stepped up to the retinal scanner and placed her hand on the biometric pad. The machine chimed a cheerful green, and the heavy locking mechanisms began to grind open with a deafening groan.

I stepped into the vault, surrounded by millions in corporate assets, bearer bonds, and legal documents. I walked straight to safety deposit box 404. I pulled a small, silver key from my necklace and unlocked it.

I pulled out a small, black external hard drive. The Ledger.

"Got it," I said, turning back to Mara.