Adrian did not confront Vincent.

That surprised everyone.

Especially Nico.

"You've thrown men out of meetings for less."

Adrian stood in the private security room at Moretti Tower.

"Less than threatening my unborn son?"

"Exactly."

"If I confront him now, he denies everything."

"And if he isn't responsible?"

Adrian looked at him.

"Then we find the person who is."

Nico leaned against the desk.

"You think Vincent did it."

"I think Evelyn told him she was pregnant."

"That doesn't prove anything."

"No."

Adrian opened five years of archived access logs.

"But this might."

For the next six hours, they rebuilt 2021.

Evelyn joined them.

Theo was supposed to remain in Westchester with Margaret.

At 2:30 p.m., a pink pig appeared on Nico's monitor.

Nico stared at it.

"Your child is spying on us."

Adrian looked at the camera.

"Theo."

A message appeared.

I'M HELPING.

Adrian typed:

NO.

Another message.

THAT WASN'T A QUESTION.

Nico laughed.

Adrian rubbed his forehead.

"Block him."

Nico tried.

Three seconds later, the pig returned wearing a crown.

Evelyn looked at Adrian.

"Your son."

"Our son."

"Convenient."

They kept working.

At 4:18, Evelyn found it.

"Wait."

Adrian moved beside her.

She enlarged a transaction log.

"This authorization signature."

"What about it?"

"It's wrong."

Nico leaned closer.

"It cleared verification."

"Because someone cloned the key."

"Whose?"

Evelyn pulled another record.

Then another.

Her face changed.

"Vincent's."

Silence.

Nico shook his head.

"No."

Evelyn looked at him.

"Look at the timestamps."

Nico did.

His expression hardened.

Vincent's credentials had been used repeatedly within minutes of fraudulent transfers.

Then wiped.

Except not completely.

Evelyn had preserved fragments in Hawthorne.

Adrian looked at the records.

"How much?"

"At least forty-eight million."

Nico whistled softly.

"Where did it go?"

"Shell companies."

"Controlled by?"

"Still tracing."

Adrian turned toward the window.

Vincent Moretti.

His father's younger brother.

The man who taught Adrian to drive.

The man who stood beside him at his father's funeral.

The man who had spent five years telling him Evelyn Carter was a traitor.

Adrian remembered something.

The night Evelyn disappeared.

Vincent had arrived at his penthouse before sunrise.

She played you.

Forget her.

Adrian had believed him.

His phone rang.

Vincent.

Everyone looked at it.

Adrian answered.

"Uncle."

"Are you coming to dinner Sunday?"

His voice was warm.

Normal.

Adrian looked at Evelyn.

"Wouldn't miss it."

"Bring the boy."

Adrian's eyes went cold.

"Why?"

"I haven't met my grandnephew properly."

"How do you know he's mine?"

Silence.

Tiny.

Barely a second.

But Adrian heard it.

Then Vincent laughed.

"Margaret has told everyone."

Adrian didn't answer.

"Sunday," Vincent repeated.

The call ended.

Nico exhaled.

"He knows."

"Yes."

Evelyn stood.

"We need to get Theo out."

"No."

She stared at Adrian.

"What?"

"If we run now, Vincent knows we're onto him."

"I'm not using my son as bait."

"Neither am I."

"Then what are you doing?"

Adrian looked at the financial records.

"Making Vincent believe nothing has changed."

---

Theo had his own plan.

Adults, he had concluded, were slow.

They had meetings.

They discussed evidence.

They said things like "chain of custody."

Theo preferred answers.

That night, he opened his laptop.

Piglet entered the Moretti network.

Then went deeper.

Vincent's private server was better protected than Adrian's.

Theo smiled.

"Finally."

It took him twenty-two minutes.

Inside were encrypted financial ledgers.

Offshore transfers.

Private messages.

And one folder with no label.

Theo opened it.

Photographs appeared.

Evelyn.

Five years ago.

Walking out of a medical clinic.

Another photograph.

Evelyn entering her apartment.

Another.

A grainy image of Adrian and Evelyn together.

Theo's smile vanished.

Vincent had been watching his mother.

He copied the folder.

Then opened the communications archive.

One message was dated September 2021.

SHE'S PREGNANT.

A reply:

THEN SHE LEAVES TONIGHT.

Theo stopped.

His heart beat faster.

He copied everything.

Then a window appeared.

SESSION DETECTED.

Theo frowned.

"No."

He disconnected.

Too late.

---

Across Westchester County, Vincent Moretti sat alone in his study.

A security alert flashed.

Unauthorized access.

He opened the trace.

For several seconds, he stared at the signature.

A pink pig.

Vincent slowly leaned back.

He had heard the stories.

The mysterious hacker who humiliated Moretti cybersecurity.

The boy.

Theo.

Vincent smiled.

"So that's what you are."

He picked up his phone.

"Change of plans."

A voice answered.

"When?"

Vincent looked at the Piglet signature.

"Tomorrow."

---

The next morning, Theo was unusually quiet.

Evelyn noticed immediately.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

She put down her coffee.

"That is your guilty voice."

"I don't have a guilty voice."

"You absolutely do."

Adrian entered.

OINK!

The smart speaker screamed.

He stopped.

Theo hadn't smiled.

That was enough.

Adrian walked over.

"What happened?"

Theo looked at both parents.

Then opened his laptop.

"I found him."

Evelyn's stomach dropped.

"What?"

Theo showed them the photographs.

Adrian's face became stone.

Then the messages.

SHE'S PREGNANT.

THEN SHE LEAVES TONIGHT.

Evelyn covered her mouth.

Adrian stared at the date.

The day before she disappeared.

"Where did you get this?"

Theo looked down.

"Vincent's server."

Adrian's head snapped toward him.

"You did what?"

"I found proof."

"You entered his private server?"

"Yes."

"Does he know?"

Theo hesitated.

That was enough.

Adrian grabbed his phone.

"Security."

Nobody answered.

His expression changed.

He tried Nico.

No answer.

Evelyn's phone rang.

Unknown number.

She stared at it.

Adrian said, "Don't."

The phone stopped.

Then Theo's tablet lit up.

A message appeared.

GOOD MORNING, PIGLET.

Theo's face went pale.

A second message followed.

LET'S SEE HOW SMART YOU REALLY ARE.