"I don't know. The system shows an authorized login."
Hayes looked toward the computer.
The login credentials belonged to him.
Everyone turned.
"Captain," Daniel said slowly, "did you authorize this?"
"No."
He moved toward the computer and began typing.
The screen displayed a countdown.
REMOTE PURGE INITIATED.
TIME REMAINING: 04:59.
Claire looked at the evidence-room camera.
A person wearing a police uniform was standing inside the archive.
The figure turned toward the camera.
It was Detective Marcus Cole.
Hayes whispered something under his breath.
"He's inside."
Daniel started for the door.
"Stop!" Hayes shouted.
But Daniel was already moving.
Claire followed him, with Michael close behind.
They reached the evidence room in less than a minute.
The door was locked.
Daniel entered the emergency access code. Nothing happened.
"Override it!" Claire shouted.
Michael examined the control panel.
"Give me a second."
He removed the cover and began working on the wiring. His fingers moved slowly, weakened by the injuries he had suffered, but he knew exactly what he was doing.
The countdown continued.
03:12.
A loud metallic crash came from inside.
Marcus was destroying something.
Michael connected two wires.
The lock clicked.
Daniel kicked the door open.
The room was empty.
Several drawers had been pulled out, and documents were scattered across the floor. A computer monitor displayed the purge sequence.
Marcus had escaped through the rear service passage.
But he had left something behind.
A small recording device.
Daniel picked it up.
"Captain, look at this."
Hayes examined it.
A red light was blinking.
He pressed play.
Marcus's voice filled the room.
"Richard, if you're hearing this, it means you finally understand that you were never in control."
There was a pause.
Then Marcus continued.
"You gave Bennett the location of Thomas Morgan's meeting. You told yourself he would only scare him. But you knew what Bennett was capable of. You knew he had men willing to kill."
Hayes closed his eyes.
Claire stared at him.
The recording continued.
"And when Emily discovered what you had done, you helped move her. You called it protection. But you never told her the truth about her father's death."
The recording ended.
Silence filled the room.
Daniel turned toward Hayes.
"Is it true?"
Hayes looked exhausted.
"Yes."
Claire felt the room tilt around her.
"You helped them kill my father."
"I didn't order his death."
"But you gave them his location."
"I thought Bennett would threaten him. I thought he would force him to stop investigating."
"You thought?"
Her voice cracked.
"That is what you tell yourself when you have to live with something terrible?"
Hayes had no answer.
Claire stepped closer.
"My father trusted you."
"I know."
"He believed you were his friend."
"I know."
"And you let him die."
Hayes looked down.
"Yes."
Before anyone could respond, the emergency lights flashed.
A message appeared on the evidence-room monitor.
THE SECOND FILE WILL BE EXCHANGED AT MIDNIGHT.
Below it was an address.
An old private estate outside the city.
Michael recognized it immediately.
"Blackwood's property."
Daniel looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
"I was taken there once. They questioned me about Emily."
Claire stared at the address.
"Then that's where we go."
Hayes shook his head.
"It's too dangerous."
Claire turned toward him.
"You have spent twelve years deciding what is too dangerous for everyone else. Not anymore."
She walked out of the room.
Daniel followed.
Michael paused beside Hayes.
"For what it's worth, Captain, you can still help us."
Hayes looked up.
"How?"
"Tell the truth. For once."
Michael left.
Hayes remained alone in the evidence room, surrounded by the remnants of a case he had spent twelve years trying to bury.
And somewhere beyond the city, Evelyn Blackwood was preparing to finish what she had started.
At 11:20 p.m., Claire, Daniel, and Michael arrived at an abandoned records facility several miles from the Blackwood estate.
The building had once been used by the police department to store old documents. It had been closed after a fire damaged part of the structure, but Michael believed Emily had hidden something there.
"Why would she leave the second file in a place like this?" Daniel asked.
"Because nobody looks for important evidence in a building they believe is worthless," Michael replied.
Claire examined the entrance.
The door was covered in dust, but the lock appeared new.
Someone had been there recently.
Michael entered a six-digit code.
The door opened.
Inside, shelves stretched across a large room. Most were empty. Broken filing cabinets lay against the walls, and the smell of damp paper filled the air.
Michael led them toward the basement.
"There was an old storage room beneath the main archive. I was told never to enter it."
"Who told you?" Claire asked.
"Emily."
They reached a narrow staircase.
At the bottom was a steel door.
Michael placed his hand against it.
"She said the truth would be here if anything happened to her."
He opened the door.
The room was small and almost completely dark. A single desk stood in the center, with a locked metal box resting on top.
Claire approached it.
On the lid, someone had written her name.
CLAIRE.
She stared at the letters.
Emily had known she might eventually come here.
Michael opened the box using a small key hidden beneath the desk.
Inside were several documents, two memory cards, and a handwritten letter.
Claire unfolded the letter.
Dear Claire,
If you're reading this, then I failed to come home.
I need you to understand something. I never stopped trying to find a way back to you.
Father discovered that Evelyn Blackwood was paying people inside the police department to destroy evidence and protect powerful criminals. He believed that if he exposed the network, everything would collapse.
But he was wrong about one thing.
The people protecting Evelyn were not simply working for money. Some of them were protecting their own secrets.
One of those people was Richard Hayes.
Claire stopped reading.
Daniel looked at her.
"Keep going."
She continued.
Hayes gave Bennett information about Father's meeting. He did not know exactly how far Bennett would go, but he knew enough to understand the danger.
I found out after Father's death. Marcus told me to disappear. He said it was the only way to survive.
I didn't trust him, but I had no other choice.