~Marco~
The park bench overlooked a duck pond, ripples dancing under afternoon sun as I waited, thermos of tea steaming between my palms.
Alessia arrived in a rush, her ponytail swinging, cheeks pink from the jog over. She dropped beside me, exhaling. "Sorry I'm late, traffic was brutal. What's this intel you mentioned?"
"Shh, no rush... I'm glad you came." I handed her a cup, our fingers brushing for just a second before she immediately pulled away.
"It's about that competitor you're digging into," I continued. "I pulled some strings from uni contacts and found nothing concrete, but enough to raise eyebrows."
"Really?" She sipped, eyes lighting with curiosity. "Is there anything tying to the ledger oddities?"
"A shell outfit," I leaned in, voice low amid the stroller hum. "It's registered in the Caymans, funnels cash to your firm's vendors. Guess who's on the board? A ghost LLC linked to Varela's network."
