Page 86 of No Longer Mine

My eyes swept over the office, landing on his computer. Nothing was plugged into the ports—no external drives, no leads. Still, it was a start.

I ran my fingers along the edges of the monitor, then the back.

Nothing. I wiggled the mouse. The screen lit up with a password prompt. No time to crack it. Dropping to my knees, I yanked open the drawers.

There had to be something.

I rifled through the drawers, my fingers moving fast but precise. Paperwork, receipts, and a gun tucked neatly in a velvet-lined compartment. No flash drives. No hard drives. No ledgers.

Damn it.

I pressed my lips together, scanning the room again. If I were Sinclair, where would I keep something incriminating? He was too smart to leave anything obvious out in the open. The computer was a dead end without the password. But there were still the safes.

The full-length mirror in the bathroom. That was one. I chewed on the corner of my cheek as I walked across the carpeted floor. I took the duster out just in case. I exited the office, began making my way down the hallway. Their bedroom was the last one on the right.

I slipped into their room silently, my eyes passed over everything quickly. Their room was clean and tidy. A chair sat in the corner, untouched and definitely never sat in. The bed was made and looked like it was never slept in. These people weren’t people at all, they were obviously robots. There wasn’t a speck of dust or dirt anywhere, which made me nervous. I backed up a step and opened the door to the balcony and peeked my headout. I couldn’t take any chances. The other building was close enough. If I needed to bolt, this would be the only way out.

Double doors led to an immaculate bathroom. White everywhere. White tile, white climbing marble. A white tub. They probably didn’t get dirty often. Not even a single piece of hair stuck to the tile. Did his wife even get ready in here?

On either side of the walk-in shower were two sets of double doors. I guessed, based on the vanity to the left, that the right side was Sinclair’s closet. But first, I had to check the full-length mirror.

Ever so gently, I pressed on the mirror beside the bedroom door. It popped open quickly. Unfortunately, it was a biometric safe. I closed the mirror back into place. There was nothing I could do with that one. I didn’t have anything on me to help me hack it, and I knew I was running out of time.

Oliver wasn’t in my ear, which meant he was watching Gavin and Sinclair closely.

I made my way toward the right-side doors, stepping carefully, my pulse hammering in my ears. If Sinclair had anything worth hiding, it had to be here.

The closet was exactly what I expected—pristine, methodical, and eerily lifeless. Suits hung in perfect order, dark colors transitioning seamlessly to lighter ones. Shoes gleamed beneath them, polished to perfection. The entire space smelled of expensive cologne and power.

I ran my hands along the walls, feeling for anything out of place. Sinclair wasn’t sloppy—he wouldn’t just leave evidence lying around. But no one was perfect. Everyone had a weakness. A blind spot.

My fingers brushed against a subtle seam in the wooden paneling at the back of the closet. Too precise. My heart pounded as I pressed against it.

A soft click.

The panel popped open an inch.

I swallowed, steadying my breath before pulling it open completely.

Inside, a small black safe sat against the wall. Not biometric like the one in the bathroom. Just a combination lock. Old school. That was something I could work with. I crouched down, fingers grazing the dial.

“Oliver,” I whispered, barely moving my lips.

“I’m here,” his voice came low through my earpiece.

“There’s a safe. Combination lock.”

A pause. Then, “Can you see the brand?”

I squinted in the dim light. “Yeah. Hamilton.”

“Alright, that gives us a starting point. Most default codes are factory set if they haven’t been changed. Try 0-0-0-0 first.”

I did. Nothing.

“Try 1-2-3-4.”

I swallowed a laugh. If Sinclair used something that stupid, I’d be personally offended. I spun the dial and entered the numbers. Nothing.

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