Episodes 7 · 8 · 9 — "The Betrayal"
"Three Suspects"
The opened envelope. The gap where the photo was.
"Only three people touched that envelope."
"One of them will surprise you."
Ram doesn't speak.
Looks at the envelope.
Looks at Tor.
Looks at Helen.
They look at him.
Nobody says anything.
Then Ram speaks.
"The envelope never left this car."
Pause.
"We're three. One of us has the photo."
Tor reacts first.
"Are you accusing me?"
"I'm thinking out loud."
"Then think better, Ram."
Helen says nothing.
That's what's strange.
Ram looks at her.
"Helen."
"What?"
"You kept that envelope under the bed. You knew exactly what was inside."
Helen clenches her jaw.
"My sister died for those photos."
"I know. That's why I'm asking."
Long silence.
Tor interrupts.
"Wait."
Pulls out his phone. Plays an audio.
SOUND: distorted voice. Voicemail.
"Tor. If you deliver the photo... your daughter gets home safe tonight."
The car falls into absolute silence.
Ram looks at Tor.
Tor's eyes are full of tears.
"They called me an hour ago," he whispers. "I had no choice."
His hands trembling on the steering wheel.
"Where's the photo now?" Ram asks. Low voice. No anger.
"I left it in a mailbox. They told me where."
"Which mailbox?"
Tor swallows.
"The one at the precinct."
"Tor... that means they already have it."
"The photo was already inside. But Ram smiled. Because before leaving the apartment... he had made a copy."
"The Copy"
Ram opens his jacket. Pulls out a folded photo.
"They thought they won."
"They were wrong."
Tor can't believe it.
"When did you take it?"
"In the apartment. While you two looked at the broken window."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I didn't know who to trust."
Tor lowers his gaze.
"I'm sorry, Ram."
"Your daughter comes first. I understand."
Helen speaks for the first time in minutes.
"Is that photo enough evidence?"
Ram looks at her.
"Alone, no."
"Then?"
"We need someone to talk. Someone from the inside."
"Nobody will talk," Tor says. "They're scared."
"There's one who isn't scared," Ram says.
The two women look at him.
"Who?" Helen asks.
Ram folds the photo. Puts it away.
"The one who started it all."
Ram looking out the window. City at night.
"Nadia's case was closed in 48 hours. That doesn't happen by itself."
"Someone forced it," Tor says.
"Someone with power. And that someone... has been waiting years for you to show up."
Looks at Helen.
Helen frowns.
"Me?"
"Nadia sent you something before she died. Right?"
Silence.
Helen doesn't answer.
But her face says it all.
"Helen. What did your sister send you?"
Helen closes her eyes.
Reaches into the inner pocket of her jacket.
Pulls out a small USB drive.
Black. No label.
"She sent it by mail. Three days before she died."
"I never opened it. I was afraid of what was inside."
Ram takes it slowly.
"Now we open it together."
"The USB had only one file. A video. Date: the night before they killed Nadia. And in the video... Nadia spoke directly to the camera. As if she knew what was going to happen."
"Nadia's Message"
Black screen. Then... Nadia's face. Alive.
"She recorded this video the night before she died."
"She knew exactly what was going to happen."
The screen flickers.
Nadia appears.
Helen gasps.
It's her face. Her voice. Her sister.
"If you're watching this... it means what I thought happened to me has."
Her voice is calm. That's the most disturbing part.
"I don't have much time. So I'll get straight to it."
Ram stops breathing.
"The man who ordered all this has a name. I'll say it once."
Nad's face. Eyes fixed. Direct.
"Commissioner General Herr."
Tor covers her mouth.
"My God."
" Herr has been covering up a network for twelve years. Dirty money. A lot. I found the documents by accident."
In the video, Nadia holds up papers to the camera.
"I tried going to the press. They said it was dangerous. They were right."
Helen cries silently.
"Helen, if it's you watching this... I love you. And I'm sorry."
"And if it's a detective... I need to ask you something."
Ram leans toward the screen.
"Don't go after Herr alone. He controls the precinct. Controls the judges. Controls almost everything."
"But he doesn't control the international press."
Nadia pulls out another paper. An address. A name.
"This journalist has been investigating him from outside the country for two years. She has context. You have the evidence."
The paper on screen.
"Together... it might be enough."
The video freezes.
Silence in the car.
Helen wipes her tears.
Tor looks at Ram.
"Now what?"
Ram takes the USB. The photo. The envelope.
Looks at them for a second.
"Now we do what Nadia couldn't."
They get out of the car.
The three of them together.
Walk toward the nighttime city.
Wide shot. Three silhouettes. City behind. Music building.
" Herr received a call that same night. Someone told him the USB existed. Someone who was in that car. And only three people knew about it."
...