She studies me, then leans in further. “I’ve got names,” she says. “Passwords. Screenshots. Transfers. Routing. Enough to make her bleed.”
“Which part,” I ask, and I keep it simple.
Sabrina exhales, then speaks like she’s reciting something she’s repeated to herself.
“Lane Strategies isn’t a firm,” she says. “It’s a funnel. She targets companies that need something, she offers access and outcomes, she routes payments through shells, and she labels it consulting.”
I don’t interrupt, because I want clean audio and I want her to keep talking.
“She fast-tracks permits,” Sabrina continues. “She softens audits. She nudges bids. She takes a cut, then she hides it behind invoices.”
My stomach tightens. It fits Victoria, and I hate that it fits.
“And Gavin,” I ask.
Sabrina’s mouth twitches. “Enforcement and access,” she says. “He pressures people who don’t pay, and he digs for leverage, and he’s useful in the way men like him are useful to women like her.”
“You’re scared of Victoria,” I say.
Sabrina’s smile dies for real this time. “You should be too.”
I hold her gaze. “Prove it.”
She reaches into her purse and pulls out a flash drive, then slides it across the table like she’s sliding a bill.
“One account,” she says. “Fifty grand. Through a shell in the Caymans. Her authorization trail is thin, but it’s there.”
I don’t touch it yet.
“You came prepared,” I say.
“I came to stay alive.” Her eyes flick toward the room, then back to me, like she’s picturing someone walking in.
“You’re doing this for you,” I say.
“Obviously,” she snaps, then reins it back in and forces the smile again. “But it helps you. You want her finished, and Ethan wants her finished, and I can give you what you need.”
I let the silence sit for a beat.
“What do you want in return,” I ask.
“Protection,” she says. “A recorded agreement. A lawyer. Terms.”
“And if we say no,” I ask.
Her smile turns thin. “Then I walk, and you stay exposed.”
I keep my face calm. “Here’s what happens.”
She watches me closely, like she didn’t expect me to speak first.
“You give enough tonight for verification,” I continue. “Then you meet again in a controlled setting, with counsel and recording,and you give the rest. If you lie, if you hide, if you try to sell both sides, we’re done.”
Sabrina’s eyebrows lift. “You’re making demands.”
“I’m setting terms,” I reply. “You want a deal, then you accept you’re not in charge.”
She studies me for a long second then nods once, slow. “Fine.”
