CHAPTER 3 — THE BUILDING LOCKDOWN

Red emergency lights flashed across the lobby.

The glass towers outside disappeared behind steel security panels.

Daniel grabbed Briggs by the lapels.

“Open the doors.”

Briggs smiled inches from his face.

“You may be chairman on paper, but inside this building, security answers to me.”

Evelyn studied the guards surrounding them.

Some looked loyal to Briggs.

Others looked terrified.

“Does your team know why you’ve locked them inside?” she asked.

Briggs pulled free from Daniel.

“There’s a security threat.”

“Yes,” Evelyn said. “There is.”

Her eyes settled on him.

Briggs’s smile vanished.

He pointed at two guards.

“Escort them to Conference Room B.”

Neither guard moved.

Briggs’s face darkened.

“I gave you an order.”

One of them, a broad-shouldered officer named Luis, removed his earpiece.

“With respect, sir, we all saw what happened.”

Briggs stepped toward him.

“You’re fired.”

Luis placed his security badge on the desk.

“Then I’m fired.”

Another guard removed her badge.

Then another.

Briggs stared as half his team silently stepped away from him.

But four guards remained by his side.

Men Evelyn recognized from the anonymous complaints.

Briggs pointed toward a side corridor.

“Move them.”

The loyal guards advanced.

Daniel positioned himself in front of Evelyn.

Before anyone could touch them, the fire alarm suddenly roared.

Sprinklers did not activate.

Instead, every digital screen in the lobby flickered.

The company logo disappeared.

A live security feed appeared.

It showed an underground hallway.

A woman in a torn blouse was pounding against a locked glass door.

Claire screamed.

“That’s Rachel!”

The video had no sound, but Rachel’s terror was unmistakable.

A timestamp glowed in the corner.

LIVE — ARCHIVE LEVEL B4

Every face turned toward Briggs.

He stepped backward.

“That footage is fake.”

Evelyn held up the silver key.

“No. It’s a message.”

The screen changed.

Rachel held a handwritten sign against the glass.

HE KNOWS ABOUT THE FILES.

Then she looked over her shoulder.

A shadow moved behind her.

The feed went black.

Claire began crying.

Daniel grabbed Briggs.

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know!”

Daniel slammed him against the marble wall.

“You have five seconds.”

Briggs laughed nervously.

“You don’t understand what you’re dealing with.”

“Then explain it.”

“This isn’t about a few missing invoices,” Briggs whispered. “This goes to the top.”

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.

“I am the top.”

Briggs looked directly at her.

“No, Mrs. Davenport.”

He glanced toward the executive elevators.

“You haven’t been in years.”

A soft chime echoed through the lobby.

The private elevator doors opened.

A man stepped out wearing an immaculate navy suit.

CEO Charles Voss.

He surveyed the locked lobby, the frightened employees, and Daniel holding Briggs against the wall.

Then he smiled at Evelyn.

“Welcome back.”

Evelyn’s expression went cold.

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Charles adjusted his cuff links.

“I was wondering when you’d finally discover that this company no longer belongs to you.”