Chapter 3 - They left the watch where it was.None of them wanted to touch it.
Daniel locked the hallway doors and activated the emergency security protocol.
That should have made Marcus feel safer.
It didn't.
Because Daniel was shaking.
A security chief who had worked through armed robberies, corporate threats, and violent protesters should not have been frightened by a watch.
But he was.
"Tell me what happened," Marcus said.
Daniel stared at him.
"I don't know."
"That's a lie."
Daniel looked toward Laura.
She nodded.
"We can't keep pretending."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"Then stop pretending."
Laura took a breath.
"Harris wasn't supposed to die."
Marcus laughed bitterly.
"I watched his body being carried out."
"We know."
"Police were here."
"We know."
"Then how are you standing here telling me he wasn't supposed to die?"
Laura lowered her voice.
"Because the body wasn't Harris."
Marcus stared at her.
"What?"
Daniel locked the office door again.
"The police identified the body as Harris because the fingerprints matched."
Marcus's stomach turned.
"Then..."
"Someone used Harris's fingerprints."
Marcus shook his head.
"That's impossible."
Daniel looked exhausted.
"Not impossible."
He pulled a folder from the security cabinet.
Inside were photographs.
Crime scene photographs.
Marcus looked away from the first image.
Then back.
A body lay beside the basement elevator.
The face had been badly damaged.
Marcus swallowed.
"That's where you found him?"
Daniel nodded.
"The body was dressed exactly like Harris."
"Watch?"
"His watch."
"Phone?"
"His phone."
"Wallet?"
"His wallet."
Marcus stared at the photo.
"Then what made you think it wasn't him?"
Daniel hesitated.
"The teeth."
Marcus frowned.
"What about them?"
"Harris had a crown on his lower left molar."
Marcus remembered.
Yes.
Harris had once joked about spending too much money at the dentist.
"The body didn't."
Marcus stared.
"Then why did the police close the case?"
Daniel looked at Laura.
She answered.
"Because two hours after the body was discovered, someone called the police commissioner."
"Who?"
"Harris."
Silence.
Marcus felt cold.
"He called the police?"
"Yes."
"He called after he died?"
Laura nodded.
"And that's when we realized the situation was much bigger than an ordinary murder."
Marcus stepped back.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because we didn't know who we could trust."
The silence became heavy.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
"Do you trust me?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"I trust the version of you who hasn't disappeared yet."
Marcus frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel walked toward the security room.
"We have another problem."
He switched on a secondary monitor.
Old footage appeared.
Three months earlier.
The executive floor.
Marcus saw Harris enter his office.
Then another Harris appeared thirty seconds later from the opposite hallway.
Marcus stared.
"Two of them."
Daniel nodded.
"We've been watching copies."
"What?"
"People who look like him."
Laura whispered:
"Two weeks ago, one of them met you."
Marcus felt his chest tighten.
"When?"
"Friday afternoon."
He remembered.
Harris had called him into the office.
They had discussed an accounting discrepancy.
But something had felt strange.
The way Harris had spoken.
The way he had stared at Marcus.
And one detail.
The silver watch.
Marcus suddenly remembered.
That day, Harris had worn it on his right wrist.
Every other day, he wore it on his left.
His face went numb.
"That wasn't Harris."
Daniel nodded.
"We think the real Harris discovered the Black Ledger."
Marcus looked at him.
"And someone replaced him."
"Not replaced."
Daniel zoomed in on the footage.
"Duplicated."
Marcus stared at the screen.
Then the video changed.
A hidden camera recording.
A laboratory.
White walls.
Medical equipment.
A man lying unconscious on a table.
Marcus could barely breathe.
The face became visible.
It was Harris.
The real Harris.
Alive.
Attached to machines.
Laura covered her mouth.
Marcus stepped toward the screen.
"When was this recorded?"
Daniel looked at the timestamp.
"Tonight."
Marcus stared.
Tonight.
After supposedly dying.
Then another figure walked into the laboratory.
Marcus recognized him.
The company's CEO.
Richard Vaughn.
The man who had personally hired Marcus six years ago.
Vaughn stood beside the unconscious Harris.
He looked directly into the camera.
Then said:
"Marcus found the ledger."
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Daniel slowly turned toward Marcus.
"How much did you copy?"
Marcus didn't answer.
Laura whispered:
"How much?"
Marcus looked at the black screen.
"Enough."
The emergency lights suddenly turned red.
A siren began screaming.
Daniel checked the security console.
His face changed.
"Someone opened the basement doors."
"Who?"
Daniel looked at the access log.
His voice dropped.
"Marcus Reed."
Marcus stared.
"I didn't."
The system beeped.
Then displayed one final message.
SUBJECT CONFIRMED ON FLOOR 32.
Laura looked at Marcus.
May you like
Daniel reached for his weapon.
And from somewhere beneath the floor came the unmistakable sound of a heavy metal door opening.
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