Chapter 8 - NINE MINUTES
“Can you stop it?”
Evelyn rushed to the terminal.
“I can try.”
Noah looked at the countdown.
Eight minutes.
Fifty-nine seconds.
Lily stood near the door.
“Mom?”
“Stay with Noah.”
Evelyn typed.
Password rejected.
Again.
Rejected.
“Mercer changed the authorization.”
Noah looked around.
“Can we copy the files?”
“Not all of them.”
“Copy what matters.”
Evelyn inserted several drives from a cabinet.
Files began transferring.
Seven minutes.
“Who do we send them to?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“That’s the problem.”
“The police?”
“No.”
Noah remembered the ledger.
Police names were inside.
“FBI?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“The network reaches federal investigators too.”
Noah stared at the screen.
“Then send it everywhere.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“What?”
“Reporters.”
“Noah—”
“Lawyers.”
“That could expose victims.”
“Then send enough to prove the rest exists.”
Evelyn stared at him for half a second.
Then smiled faintly.
“You really are my son.”
They worked.
Six minutes.
Noah photographed ledger pages.
Evelyn encrypted patient records.
Lily watched the hallway.
Then she whispered:
“Someone’s coming.”
Vanessa appeared.
No gun.
Blood on her sleeve.
“Move.”
Evelyn stepped in front of the children.
“Not happening.”
Vanessa stared at her.
For the first time, the two women faced each other freely.
“You look terrible,” Vanessa said.
Evelyn laughed.
“You stole my husband, my home, and three years of my life, and that’s your opening line?”
“I didn’t steal Richard.”
“You’re right.”
Evelyn’s eyes hardened.
“He gave himself away.”
Vanessa glanced at the countdown.
“Mercer locked me out.”
“Good.”
“He’s going to kill everyone.”
“You helped him.”
“I helped myself.”
“At least you’re finally honest.”
Five minutes.
Vanessa approached.
“I know the shutdown code.”
Noah stared.
Evelyn didn’t move.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because Rachel’s records are in that archive.”
Vanessa’s voice broke slightly.
“My sister deserves to exist somewhere other than a fake death certificate.”
For the first time, Noah saw something human beneath Vanessa’s cruelty.
Not goodness.
Pain.
Old and poisoned.
Evelyn stepped aside.
Vanessa typed.
AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED: R. WHITMORE.
Vanessa cursed.
“It needs Richard.”
Noah looked toward the corridor.
“I’ll get him.”
“No,” Evelyn said.
“We don’t have time.”
“I’ll go,” Vanessa said.
Evelyn grabbed her wrist.
“You hurt Lily.”
Vanessa looked at the little girl.
For once, she had no clever response.
“I know.”
“If you touch either of my children again—”
“You’ll kill me.”
“No.”
Evelyn leaned closer.
“I’ll make sure you live long enough to answer for everything.”
Vanessa left.
Four minutes.
The file transfer reached sixty-two percent.
Then the lights went out.
Emergency lights flashed red.
A voice came through the intercom.
Mercer.
“You should have stayed dead, Evelyn.”
Lily grabbed her mother.
Mercer continued.
“The doors will seal in sixty seconds.”
Noah ran to the archive entrance.
Metal shutters began descending.
“Mom!”
Evelyn grabbed the drives.
“Go!”
They ran.
The shutter dropped.
Noah rolled beneath it.
Lily followed.
Evelyn pushed the drives under.
Then the shutter slammed down between them.
“Mom!”
Noah pounded the metal.
Evelyn was trapped inside.
May you like
The countdown continued.
03:17.
