Chapter 2: The Last Place She Should Have Trapped It
Chapter 2: The Last Place She Should Have Trapped It
The smile disappeared from Eleanor's face the moment she saw mine.
She had expected rage.
She had expected panic.
Instead, I stepped away from the door.
"Daniel?" Sarah whispered, still gripping the frame as the twisted prosthetic strained against her residual limb.
I met her eyes.
"Trust me."
She understood immediately.
For three years, Sarah had trusted me through surgeries, physical therapy, sleepless nights, and every obstacle life had thrown at us.
She nodded once.
Eleanor laughed.
"What's wrong?" she mocked. "Finally realized you can't win?"
I looked directly through the glass.
"No."
I spoke quietly enough that everyone had to lean in to hear.
"I just realized you've destroyed the only thing that could have saved you."
Her smile faltered.
"What are you talking about?"
I pulled out my phone and pressed a single button.
The call connected almost instantly.
"Mr. Holloway," I said calmly. "You can come inside now."
Across the parking lot, three black SUVs rolled toward the entrance.
Every conversation in the lobby stopped.
The doors opened.
Six people stepped out.
Two forensic accountants.
A retired federal investigator.
My father's longtime attorney.
Two state investigators carrying leather briefcases.
The attorney, Richard Holloway, looked at Sarah's trapped leg.
His face turned white.
"What happened?"
I answered without taking my eyes off Eleanor.
"My stepmother decided to trap the evidence."
The room erupted into confused whispers.
"Evidence?" someone repeated.
Eleanor folded her arms.
"I have no idea what nonsense he's talking about."
Richard slowly walked toward the door.
Then he looked at Sarah.
"Mrs. Carter... is the drive still inside?"
Sarah winced from the pressure.
"I... I think so."
Eleanor frowned.
"What drive?"
Richard didn't answer.
Instead, he carefully examined the crushed titanium shaft protruding from beneath the oak door.
The carbon fiber shell had cracked.
The lower tube was bent almost forty degrees.
Then everyone heard it.
A faint...
Crack.
The titanium cylinder had begun to split.
My stomach dropped.
"No..."
Sarah looked at me.
"It's okay."
But I knew it wasn't.
If the encrypted drive had been crushed...
Months of risking our lives...
Everything my father had tried to protect...
Would disappear forever.
Richard knelt beside the damaged prosthetic.
"This model has an emergency maintenance hatch."
He pulled a small multi-tool from his pocket.
Eleanor suddenly realized something was terribly wrong.
"Security!" she shouted.
"Remove these people immediately!"
No one moved.
Even the security guards looked uncertain.
One of the investigators quietly displayed his badge.
"I suggest nobody interferes."
Richard unscrewed a tiny cap hidden beneath the cosmetic cover.
Everyone held their breath.
He reached inside.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
He pulled out a silver USB drive.
Bent.
Scratched.
But intact.
The investigator carefully accepted it with gloved hands.
"We'll know in a few minutes if it's readable."
May you like
For the first time that evening...
Eleanor's confidence cracked.
