Chapter 12 - THE LAST PERSON I EXPECTED TO SAVE MEI froze.
Claire stood in the doorway.
The man behind her held a gun low against his leg.
Police shouted from somewhere in the dark.
"Drop the weapon!"
The man ran.
Officers chased him.
Claire grabbed my arm.
"Move!"
"Why?"
"Because the building is wired."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
"The server room."
She pointed toward the racks.
"The backup system."
Seconds later, a red light began blinking.
Ethan shouted from the hallway.
"Get out!"
We ran.
The explosion came behind us.
Not massive.
But enough to shake the walls.
Smoke filled the corridor.
Alarms screamed.
Sprinklers activated.
We reached the parking lot.
Police dragged everyone away from the building.
I turned to Claire.
She was bleeding from one arm.
"Who was that?"
"I don't know."
"You brought him."
"I didn't."
"You knew the building was wired."
She looked at me.
"I saw the trigger earlier."
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I thought he was going to kill me."
I stared.
"For once, I don't know whether to believe you."
She nodded.
"You shouldn't."
That answer surprised me.
She sat on the curb.
"Your father has someone inside the police investigation."
Reyes stiffened.
"What?"
Claire looked at him.
"Someone is feeding him updates."
Reyes immediately contacted internal affairs.
Then his radio crackled.
A voice came through.
"Detective Reyes, we have a problem."
"What?"
"One of the evidence vehicles is missing."
"Which one?"
"The one transporting the financial records."
Everything went silent.
Someone had taken the evidence.
Someone inside the system.
Reyes swore under his breath.
Claire stood.
"There is only one place they can take it."
"Where?"
"My father's old house."
I looked at her.
"You mean Samuel Vale?"
"Yes."
"He's dead."
She shook her head.
"No."
My heart stopped.
"What do you mean?"
"He disappeared too."
Suddenly Ethan understood.
"Of course."
"What?"
"The fire."
He looked at me.
"Your father didn't kill one family."
"He erased all of them."
We drove under police escort.
The old Vale house stood on a hill outside town.
The place had been abandoned for years.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
Then we found the basement.
The missing evidence boxes were stacked against the wall.
Untouched.
Except one.
It was open.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
And an audio recorder.
Reyes pressed play.
A man's voice filled the room.
My father.
"If you're hearing this, everything went wrong."
I stopped breathing.
His recording continued.
"Claire, you were never supposed to reach Huy emotionally. You were supposed to observe him."
My stomach tightened.
"I knew you would eventually care for the child."
The room felt cold.
"That was the risk."
Claire began crying.
My father's voice continued.
"Once Noah reaches nine months, move the money. Once Huy becomes the suspect, disappear."
Then another voice came on.
Ethan.
"You're too late."
The recording paused.
Then my father's voice said:
"That's why I killed your brother."
Ethan stepped backward.
But the recording wasn't finished.
"Not the way you think."
The basement door slammed shut.
Someone had locked us inside.
Reyes shouted.
Smoke began seeping beneath the door.
Claire looked at me.
"He found us."
Then the lights turned red.
And a timer appeared on the wall.
May you like
00:03:00
Two minutes fifty-nine seconds.
