Chapter 13 - The Trap Beneath the School
The second file did not exist.
At least, Willa did not possess it.
Noah believed the kidnappers meant the flash drive Coach Mercer had given her.
“They may not know it was stolen,” he said.
“Then we make them believe I still have it.”
Willa used an empty flash drive and copied the timing-chip data onto it. If the kidnappers opened it, they would find the original race result and the audio recording, but not the five years of evidence Mercer had promised.
Lena wanted to call the police.
Caleb argued against it.
“If the Vale family controls part of the school, they may have influence with the police.”
“We cannot walk into another trap alone,” Lena said.
“I am going,” Willa replied. “But not alone.”
They created a plan.
Noah would access the old security network from the media room.
Lena would remain near the emergency exit.
Caleb would enter through the underground tunnel.
Julian agreed to watch the main hallway, though no one fully trusted him.
Willa entered Room 214 at eleven thirty that night.
The room had been cleaned after the fire.
The filing cabinets were gone.
A single chair stood in the center.
Claire was not there.
The speaker crackled.
“Place the drive on the desk.”
Willa obeyed.
“Where is my mother?”
“Safe for now.”
The voice had been electronically altered.
“Show her to me.”
A monitor turned on.
Claire appeared on the screen, tied to a chair in a concrete room.
Willa searched for clues in the background.
A yellow pipe.
A broken clock.
A steel door marked B4.
“Open the file,” the voice instructed.
“I want proof she is alive.”
Claire lifted her head.
“Willa, do not give them anything.”
A masked person struck the back of her chair.
Willa moved toward the screen.
“Stop.”
“Open the file.”
Willa inserted the flash drive into the computer.
The copied folders appeared.
The masked person downloaded them.
After several seconds, the altered voice became angry.
“This is not the second file.”
“It is all I have.”
“You are lying.”
“So are you. My mother is not beneath this school.”
The voice stopped.
Willa had recognized the yellow pipe.
She had seen it during a field trip to the Vale Foundation’s old research building.
Claire was being held across the city.
The image on the monitor was live, but the kidnappers were not nearby.
Room 214 was a distraction.
Willa pulled the drive from the computer.
The door locked behind her.
Gas began flowing from a vent.
Noah’s voice came through her earpiece.
“The network is blocking me.”
Willa covered her mouth with her sleeve.
“Open the emergency exit.”
“I’m trying.”
Through the smoke, she saw the computer screen change.
A message appeared.
THE SECOND FILE IS NOT DIGITAL.
IT IS WILLA.
The words blurred as her eyes watered.
A panel opened behind her.
Caleb entered wearing a respirator.
He dragged her into the tunnel.
They escaped seconds before the room filled completely.
Outside, Willa struggled for air.
“What did the message mean?” Noah asked.
Willa looked toward Caleb.
His face had gone pale.
He knew.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
May you like
Caleb removed the respirator.
“The preferred-candidate system was originally called Project Willa.”
