Chapter 13 - THE BETRAYALDelaney couldn't move.
Her father sat in silence on the screen.
“You ordered Ronan's stop?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To force you to come back.”
“You used my brother.”
“I had no other way.”
“You could have called me.”
“I tried.”
“You could have told the Bureau.”
“I couldn't trust them.”
“You could have told me!”
He lowered his head.
“They were watching you.”
Delaney's voice shook.
“So you endangered Ronan.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“To expose the network.”
Lena laughed.
“Tell her the truth.”
Her father looked toward Lena.
“You've always been impatient.”
“Tell her.”
He sighed.
“The account has evidence against people in twenty-three states.”
Delaney stared.
“Why bring me into it?”
“Because the archive can only be released through your biometric key.”
“You could have released it yourself.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because I was compromised.”
The old Quill stepped forward.
“Your father made a deal.”
Delaney turned.
“What deal?”
“Twelve years ago, he agreed to disappear.”
“In exchange for?”
“Your lives.”
Delaney's anger faltered.
Ronan was crying.
Her father continued.
“They promised not to touch you.”
“They broke the promise.”
“I know.”
“Then why stay hidden?”
“Because I had to wait for the archive to mature.”
“What does that mean?”
“Every payment. Every judge. Every officer. Every corporation. I needed proof.”
“And now?”
“Now the archive is complete.”
Delaney looked at the files.
Millions of records.
Years of corruption.
A machine built over decades.
The old Quill leaned toward the camera.
“You can release it.”
“Or?”
“Your brother dies.”
Ronan looked at Delaney.
“Don't do it.”
Lena raised a gun.
“Release the archive.”
Delaney opened the release protocol.
A timer appeared.
UPLOAD TARGETS: GLOBAL
She stopped.
“Who gets it?”
“Every journalist.”
“Every court?”
“Yes.”
“Every government?”
“Yes.”
“All at once?”
The old man smiled.
“That's the idea.”
Delaney's finger hovered over the button.
Then she noticed something.
The system showed two release files.
ARCHIVE A
ARCHIVE B
She opened B.
It was a hidden ledger.
The money.
The actual money.
Not twenty-six million.
Three hundred eighty-two million.
Her father had lied.
There was more.
Much more.
And the largest recipient was not Raven Holdings.
It was a private intelligence company.
NORTHSTAR STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS.
Delaney recognized the name.
Northstar had contracts with federal agencies.
Surveillance.
Data analysis.
Counterterrorism.
Her father stared at the screen.
“You found it.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Who runs Northstar?”
He hesitated.
Lena answered.
“You do.”
Delaney stared at her father.
He closed his eyes.
She whispered:
“You built everything.”
Her father said nothing.
“You weren't just exposing them.”
“No.”
“You were funding them.”
“No.”
“You moved the money.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To control the evidence.”
“To control everyone.”
“To survive.”
Delaney laughed bitterly.
“That's what every criminal says.”
Her father looked at her.
“I became the monster so you wouldn't have to.”
The old Quill raised his gun.
“Enough.”
Suddenly Mason grabbed a weapon.
He fired.
The camera fell.
The screen went black.
Delaney heard screams through the speakers.
Then one final sound.
A gunshot.
She stared at the screen.
“No.”
Ronan's voice came through.
“Delaney!”
Then static.
The timer remained.
00:09
00:08
00:07
Delaney stared at the release button.
May you like
She had less than ten seconds.
And no idea who would survive the upload.
