Chapter 7 - The Floor That Did Not Exist)
Emergency lights glowed red.
Evan heard the ventilation fans stop.
Then a soft hiss began above him.
Gas.
He covered his mouth.
Ruiz's voice crackled in his earpiece.
"Evan, answer."
"I'm here."
"We lost video."
"Door locked."
"Can you open it?"
"No."
"Agents are moving."
Evan looked at the server.
The copying progress showed 73 percent.
"How long?"
"Two minutes."
"You may not have two minutes."
The hiss continued.
Evan's eyes began burning.
He grabbed a metal chair and slammed it against the narrow glass panel beside the door.
Nothing.
Again.
A crack appeared.
Again.
The glass broke.
He reached through.
No handle.
Electronic lock.
"Come on."
The copy reached 84 percent.
Ruiz shouted through the earpiece.
"Leave the drive."
"No."
"That is an order."
"I'm not your agent."
Evan pulled a fire extinguisher from the wall.
He struck the lock.
Once.
Twice.
The casing broke.
Sparks flashed.
The door released.
Copy progress 96 percent.
Evan waited.
"Evan, move."
98.
99.
100.
He grabbed the drive.
Ran.
The corridor seemed twice as long.
Behind him, an alarm finally activated.
The elevator was disabled.
A red EXIT sign pointed toward stairs.
Evan pushed through.
Two men were coming down.
Not agents.
Both wore Whitmore security uniforms.
Evan turned and ran upward.
One shouted.
"Stop."
Evan continued.
A hand grabbed his ankle.
He fell onto the steps.
The hidden drive slipped from his fingers.
One guard reached for it.
Another voice thundered from above.
"Federal agents. Hands where I can see them."
Ruiz.
The guard froze.
Within seconds, the stairwell filled with agents.
Evan lay against the wall, coughing.
Ruiz picked up the drive.
"Thirty minutes, you said."
Evan managed a weak smile.
"Was I close?"
"You were an idiot."
"But I got it."
Ruiz looked at the drive.
"Yes."
By noon, federal warrants were being executed at Whitmore Development.
Robert Whitmore was gone.
His office had been emptied hours earlier.
His private jet left the city before sunrise.
The destination was unknown.
Mark Henderson was detained for questioning but later released into protective custody.
He had provided enough information to support Claire's allegations.
And the data Evan copied changed everything.
Hundreds of millions of dollars had been diverted.
Public contracts inflated.
Employees paid through shell companies.
Investment losses hidden.
But one file mattered to Evan more than all the others.
His father's.
Ruiz displayed the photograph.
"We verified the metadata."
"And?"
"It appears genuine."
Evan stared at the image.
Thomas Carter stood outside a grocery store.
He looked older.
Thinner.
But unmistakable.
"Where was this taken?"
"Lake Vernon."
"The address?"
"Property belongs to a holding company."
"Connected to Crest River?"
"Not directly."
"Then I'm going."
Claire sat beside him.
"No."
"He's my father."
"You don't know what he is."
"He is alive."
"That doesn't mean he's safe."
Evan looked at her.
"For nine years, I believed I buried him."
Claire took his hand.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
The words came out sharper than he intended.
He lowered his voice.
"I spent nine years thinking every conversation I didn't have with him was gone forever."
Claire's eyes softened.
"We go together."
"You aren't recovered."
"I'm not letting you walk into another trap alone."
Ruiz refused both of them.
Then he discovered the property had been vacated that morning.
The decision became irrelevant.
Agents searched the cabin.
No Thomas Carter.
No personal belongings.
Only one room showed recent use.
Inside it were newspaper clippings.
Photographs.
Articles about Evan.
Claire.
Sophie.
Hundreds of them.
Someone had followed their lives for years.
On one wall was a photograph from Evan and Claire's wedding.
Another showed Claire leaving the hospital after Sophie's birth.
Another showed Sophie playing in their backyard.
Evan felt violated.
"He watched us."
Ruiz examined the photographs.
"Or someone watched you for him."
On a small wooden desk sat an envelope.
EVAN written across the front.
Inside was a letter.
Son,
If you are reading this, then Claire found what I could not destroy.
I am sorry.
I know those words are worthless after nine years.
You were safer believing I was dead.
That is what I told myself every day.
Julian Cross did not build this system.
Neither did Robert Whitmore.
They inherited it.
I helped create it.
Evan stopped reading.
Claire covered her mouth.
Ruiz said nothing.
Evan continued.
Twenty four years ago, I believed we were moving money to protect government contractors operating overseas. By the time I learned the truth, leaving was no longer possible.
I tried once.
Your mother paid the price.
Evan's hand began shaking.
His mother had died from cancer six years earlier.
At least that was what he believed.
He continued.
If they tell you your mother's death was natural, do not believe them.
If they tell you I abandoned you, believe that part.
I did.
Because the alternative was letting them use you against me.
There is one person who can explain the beginning.
Her name is Evelyn Shaw.
You know her by another name.
Evan reached the bottom of the page.
May you like
The final sentence made him sit down.
Ask Lauren why she never told you that she is not your sister.
