The audio clip detonates. Hannah goes public with denials; Victor's allies call for an investigation into Adrian's "control tactics." The independent prosecutor moves swiftly, demanding records and phone logs that paint an ugly network—payments, ghost accounts, shell companies. The investigation opens a new front: who ordered the witness silenced?
Mei watches Victor pivot from insinuation to accusation, using the court of investors to pressure legal teams. The public starts to split—some feel pity for Adrian's honesty; others smell opportunism.
Adrian spends nights at the prosecutor's office, holding files that show not only Victor's interference but a long pattern of legal tampering involving a handful of lawyers and a now-identified courier network. The courier's manifest includes a single, damning recurring name: a law firm that once represented the Liao's private interests and now lists Hannah Wu as a partner on certain charters.
Cliffhanger: The prosecutor lifts the phone logs and says, "You have three names who can place Hannah at the pier the night the witness died." On the other line: a text to Adrian—Meet me. Midnight. Underground parking. One name. The sender is Elena.