Chapter 10 - THE CLAIM BEFORE MIDNIGHT
The lottery headquarters occupied a glass building beside the state treasury.
They arrived twelve minutes before closing.
Police vehicles stood near the main entrance.
Marianne stopped the utility vehicle one block away.
“They’re waiting for us,” Naomi said.
Thomas studied the building.
“Employee entrance on the east side.”
“How do you know?”
“Rebecca sent the plans years ago.”
Marianne looked at him.
“You and Rebecca prepared for everything except telling me the truth.”
“I was trying to keep you separate from this.”
“That excuse expired eight years ago.”
They left the vehicle in an underground parking garage and crossed through a service corridor connecting several government buildings.
At the lottery office, a janitor unlocked an interior door.
“Mrs. Cole?” he asked.
Marianne nodded.
He handed her a visitor badge.
“Someone paid me to make sure you reached the claims department.”
“Who?”
The man pointed toward Naomi’s green file.
“Your sister.”
Naomi tightened her grip on the folder.
Inside the claims office, only two employees remained.
A woman named Helena Moss greeted Marianne with a smile that did not reach her eyes.
“We were told you might come.”
“By whom?”
“Your son.”
Marianne placed the ticket on the counter.
Helena did not touch it.
“Mr. Cole filed a theft report twenty minutes ago.”
“Of course he did.”
“He states that the ticket belongs to him.”
“It does not.”
“He provided digital records showing he selected the numbers.”
“I purchased the ticket.”
“Do you have the receipt?”
Marianne searched her wallet.
The receipt was gone.
She remembered emptying the handbag at Union Station.
Someone could have taken it there, in the hospital lobby, or inside her house.
“No.”
Helena folded her hands.
“Without proof of purchase, we must hold the claim pending investigation.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Scan the ticket first.”
Helena looked at his visitor badge.
“And you are?”
“Her husband.”
According to every government record, Thomas Cole was dead.
Helena’s eyes widened.
She reached beneath the counter.
Naomi moved quickly and blocked the silent alarm button.
“Scan it.”
The second employee backed toward the door.
Thomas locked it.
Marianne placed both palms on the counter.
“I have spent six months paying for a disease my son never had. Tonight, a man was found dead in my kitchen. My home has been stolen through forged documents, and people are trying to have me declared incompetent. You will scan this ticket and register my claim.”
Helena’s expression changed from authority to fear.
“You don’t understand who is involved.”
“Conrad Pike.”
Helena went still.
Marianne continued.
“Detective Halpern. Rosewood Haven. St. Matthew’s private wing. North Ridge Holdings.”
The second employee stopped moving.
Thomas placed Dr. Vale’s recorder on the counter.
“We also have evidence.”
Helena whispered, “Evidence does not protect anyone.”
“No,” Marianne said. “But twenty million dollars might.”
Helena finally scanned the ticket.
The machine chimed.
A message appeared.
VALIDATED JACKPOT CLAIM.
Marianne released a breath.
Then another message replaced it.
PRIOR CLAIM FILED.
OWNERSHIP DISPUTED.
Helena looked at the screen.
“Derek filed first.”
“Can he collect without the ticket?”
“No.”
“Can I collect while the claim is disputed?”
“No.”
Thomas struck the counter.
“There has to be an emergency process.”
Helena shook her head.
“Only a court order or federal asset protection request can release the funds.”
Naomi remembered Judge Mercer’s words.
“A whistleblower trust.”
Helena stared at her.
“That requires a federal case number.”
Thomas removed Samuel Rourke’s old business card.
“What if we have one?”
“He’s dead.”
“His investigation may not be.”
Helena typed the number from the card.
The system searched.
A record appeared.
CASE ACTIVE.
LEAD AGENT: SAMUEL ROURKE.
“That’s impossible,” she said.
The office phone rang.
No one moved.
It rang again.
Helena answered.
A man’s voice came through the speaker.
“This is Special Agent Samuel Rourke. Place Marianne Cole’s claim into protected evidence status.”
Marianne looked at Thomas.
He looked equally stunned.
Helena typed the authorization code dictated by the caller.
The screen changed.
CLAIM PROTECTED.
OWNERSHIP REVIEW SUSPENDED.
Marianne’s relief lasted only seconds.
The office doors shook.
Police had entered the outer hallway.
Halpern’s voice came through the glass.
“Open the door.”
Helena disconnected the call.
“Protected status means no one can collect until the federal review is complete.”
“How long?”
“Months. Possibly years.”
“The money cannot help us.”
“It can fund witness protection once the case is verified.”
The doors shook again.
Naomi opened the green file.
Inside was a notarized statement from Rebecca, a list of federal badge numbers, and a photograph.
She stared at it.
“What is it?” Marianne asked.
Naomi handed her the image.
It showed Samuel Rourke standing beside Rebecca three weeks earlier.
He was alive.
On the back, Rebecca had written:
Rourke did not die.
He became Pike’s partner.
Do not trust the voice on the phone.
The office lights turned off.
Emergency locks engaged.
Helena checked the computer.
“The federal request sealed the building.”
Thomas looked at the ventilation panel.
“Rourke is coming for the evidence.”
Marianne picked up the recorder.
“No.”
May you like
She placed it inside her coat.
“He’s coming for us.”
