Chapter 17
Contacting the Authorities
Anya decides how to present the evidence. She must choose between approaching Detective Rostova directly or leaking the information to international media, weighing the risks and potential outcomes of each choice.
The weight of the memory card pressed against Anya’s palm, a tiny sliver of plastic holding a universe of danger. Viktor’s words, a low rumble of caution and experience, echoed in her mind. “Direct approach is risky, Anya. Rostova is by-the-book, and ‘by-the-book’ can be slow. And Darius… Darius doesn’t like loose ends.”
Anya sat at her small kitchen table, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the worn wood. The memory card lay beside a half-empty mug of chamomile tea, its cool surface a stark contrast to the heat churning in her stomach. She’d spent the entire morning replaying the evidence in her head: the coded shipping manifests, the satellite imagery Viktor had helped her access, the chilling audio snippets that painted a grim picture of Darius Kovacs’s reach. It was undeniable, irrefutable, and terrifying.
The choice lay before her, stark and unforgiving. She could walk into Detective Rostova’s office, armed with her meticulously compiled dossier, and place her faith in the Lithuanian justice system. Rostova, with her sharp eyes and no-nonsense demeanor, was dedicated, Anya knew. She’d shown a flicker of interest when Anya had visited before, a subtle tilt of her head that suggested more than just polite dismissal. But Viktor was right; Darius was a phantom, a master manipulator who had likely woven his way into the fabric of any system, any institution. Would Rostova be able to act quickly enough? Or would Darius’s influence, like a creeping vine, choke the investigation before it could even take root?
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