Chapter 10 - EVELYN'S REAL AGEEvelyn walked through the Northstar lobby as though she owned it.

Maybe she did.

For thirty years, she had moved money through institutions that never knew her name.

She had built organizations that survived elections.

Wars.

Presidents.

Scandals.

Deaths.

And now Lisa finally saw the truth.

Evelyn wasn't just preserving The Arch.

She was its oldest surviving operator.

"How old are you?" Lisa asked.

Evelyn smiled.

"Old enough to remember when your grandfather thought women couldn't run intelligence networks."

Sarah whispered:

"That's impossible."

Evelyn looked at her.

"History is full of impossible things."

Lisa stared at the screens.

Dead soldiers.

Thousands of names.

Then she noticed something.

Each name appeared beside a current account number.

A living person was receiving money under the identity of each dead soldier.

"Identity laundering."

Evelyn nodded.

"Among other things."

"You stole money from military families."

"No."

Evelyn's voice remained calm.

"I redirected assets from institutions too slow to notice."

"You murdered people."

"Some."

Lisa froze.

Ryan moved.

Evelyn raised the baton.

Guards aimed rifles.

"No."

Evelyn looked at Ryan.

"Stand down."

Ryan obeyed.

Lisa watched.

"You're still controlling him."

"I made him."

Evelyn turned to Lisa.

"I made your husband."

Ryan's face tightened.

"You recruited him."

"I saved him."

"You turned him into a weapon."

"Exactly."

Lisa stepped forward.

"Why me?"

Evelyn's eyes softened.

"Because your father chose you."

"Chose me for what?"

"The Arch."

Evelyn tapped the baton against the floor.

"You have the master key."

Lisa shook her head.

"I don't."

"You do."

"No."

"Your body carries it."

Lisa felt a chill.

Evelyn smiled.

"The biometric protocol was embedded through a surgical procedure when you were an infant."

Lisa's hand went instinctively to her neck.

Sarah whispered:

"You've got to be kidding."

Evelyn laughed.

"You're still thinking like a citizen."

She turned toward a terminal.

"Lisa, step forward."

Lisa didn't move.

Evelyn pressed a button.

Every screen displayed photographs of Lisa from childhood.

Her parents.

Her school.

Her first job.

Her wedding.

Her entire life.

Then a new photograph appeared.

Daniel.

Standing with a group of soldiers.

The date was yesterday.

Evelyn said:

"Your brother isn't my prisoner."

Lisa looked up.

"Then where is he?"

Evelyn smiled.

"He's inside The Arch."

"What does that mean?"

"He chose to protect you."

Lisa stared.

"Where?"

Evelyn leaned closer.

"He is the administrator."

The room went silent.

Ryan shook his head.

"No."

Evelyn looked at him.

"You were always the soldier."

Then she looked at Lisa.

"Your brother was always the key."

Lisa's phone vibrated.

A message from Daniel.

DON'T TRUST ANYONE.

A second message followed.

ESPECIALLY THE WOMAN WHO IS HOLDING THE BATON.

Lisa looked at Evelyn.

The older woman smiled.

"You have thirty minutes."

"For what?"

"To decide whether you want your brother alive."

"What happens in thirty minutes?"

Evelyn lifted the baton.

"I activate your inheritance."

She walked away.

Lisa looked at Sarah.

"Can you access the system?"

Sarah shook her head.

"Not without you."

Lisa looked at Ryan.

"Can you get us to Daniel?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

They entered the server chamber.

The biometric scanner recognized Lisa instantly.

The doors opened.

Inside was a circular room.

At the center sat a single chair.

Wires surrounded it.

A monitor activated.

Daniel appeared on screen.

His face was exhausted.

"Lisa."

She stepped closer.

"I'm here."

Daniel looked toward someone off-camera.

Then back at her.

"You shouldn't have come."

"Where are you?"

He hesitated.

Then whispered:

"Inside your company."

Lisa frowned.

"What?"

"I've been here the whole time."

The screen behind him changed.

A floor map appeared.

Daniel's location was highlighted.

Lisa stared.

"He's in the building."

Ryan looked around.

"But we're standing inside the server chamber."

Daniel nodded.

"Exactly."

Then the floor beneath them opened.

Ryan grabbed Lisa's arm.

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They dropped into darkness.

And the last thing Lisa heard was Evelyn laughing above them.