Using my body to block the angle of the security camera, I reached out and picked up the black notebook. My fingers trembled as I turned it over and felt along the thick, rigid spine. Inside the seam of the faux-leather cover, a thin plastic ridge was barely perceptible to the touch. I pressed firmly against the edge, and a tiny micro-SD memory card slipped out into the palm of my hand, alongside a folded piece of thermal receipt paper.

“What is this?” I whispered, keeping my back turned to the lens.

“That card contains the audio recordings of Albert and Raymond discussing the offshore transfer in my Glendale office three weeks ago,” Paxton explained, his voice growing stronger as the adrenaline took over. “And that paper is the original sign-off sheet proving Raymond forged my signature on the power of attorney documents. They thought I was keeping my quiet out of fear of family shame. They didn’t realize I was documenting every single attempt they made to breach my commercial accounts.”

A floorboard creaked down the hallway. The faint sound of footsteps signaled that Kelly’s scheduled break was coming to an end.

“Nicole,” Paxton whispered urgently, grabbing my wrist to pull me close. “You have to leave right now. Don’t confront her. Don’t let her see that you know. Take the card, drive straight to my lead attorney’s office in downtown Phoenix, and hand it to him personally. If you stay here, they will use the camera footage to claim you tampered with my medical care.”

“I can’t leave you here with them!” I protested, tears finally spilling over my eyelashes. “What if they give you more sedatives?”

“They won’t dare do anything drastic while the flight to Tokyo is in the air,” Paxton urged, his eyes fierce with determination. “They need me alive until the international wire clears tomorrow morning. Once my lawyer sees what’s on that card, he can execute an emergency court injunction and bring the state authorities here before their plane even lands in Japan. Go!”