Mara examined the flash drive but didn’t connect it. “We need isolation and federal backup.”
Before I could respond, Arthur stiffened. “Man in a gray suit. Counter. Watching us.”
Mara stood instantly. “We leave. Now.”
We exited through the side door.
Halfway down the block, Arthur slowed, pressing a hand to his side.
“You’re hurt,” I said.
“I’ve been hurt for years,” he muttered. “Keep moving.”
A black SUV screeched around the corner.
Men stepped out.
Mara shouted, “Run!”
We sprinted through alleyways, footsteps pounding behind us. Sirens wailed somewhere in the distance. Arthur stumbled, and we held him upright.
A police cruiser appeared ahead.
Mara whispered, “Don’t stop. Walk.”
We crossed calmly. The cruiser passed.
They didn’t.
Safe — for now.
Mara led us into a secured office building and locked the door behind us. Arthur collapsed into a chair, pale and sweating.
Mara connected the flash drive to an offline laptop. Her eyes widened.
“This could dismantle entire corporations.”
Arthur’s breathing grew shallow.
“Rachel,” he said weakly. “There’s something else.”
I knelt beside him.
“It wasn’t Ethan who gave me the evidence,” he whispered. “Not directly.”
Mara turned. “Then who?”
Arthur swallowed. “His brother. Mark.”
My heart stopped. Mark had vanished years before Ethan died.
“He went into hiding,” Arthur said. “But he wouldn’t let the truth die.”
Before I could respond, alarms blared.
“They found us,” Mara said.
We ran down emergency stairs — and burst into an alley where a black sedan waited.
The window rolled down.
A man leaned out. Familiar eyes.
“Rachel,” he said urgently. “Get in.”
It was Mark.
Arthur exhaled in relief. “You made it.”
Mark looked at me. “I’m here to finish what my brother started.”
As the car sped away, I realized my life had shifted forever.
This wasn’t just about survival anymore.
It was about truth.
