Chapter 14 - MIDNIGHT
Daniel drove.
Thomas sat beside him.
Neither spoke for twenty minutes.
Finally, Thomas laughed.
“You hate me.”
Daniel kept his eyes on the road.
“Yes.”
“But you still came.”
“You know why.”
“Evelyn.”
“Hope.”
Thomas smiled.
“My granddaughter.”
“Don't call her that.”
“You sound like Evelyn.”
“Good.”
They were heading toward an abandoned Willow data center.
Margaret had leaked thousands of documents.
But the master archive remained offline.
If activated, it would automatically release everything.
Including identities of undercover officers.
Witnesses.
Children.
Victims.
People who had nothing to do with Willow's crimes.
Commissioner Walsh planned to activate it at midnight.
Chaos would destroy the prosecution.
Daniel intended to stop him.
Thomas knew the access codes.
At 11:18 p.m., Evelyn discovered the truth.
She ignored Daniel's warning.
Marcus drove.
Evelyn sat beside him.
“You should be with Hope.”
“She is with federal protection.”
“You just gave birth.”
“And somehow that's still not the craziest thing I've done this week.”
Marcus almost smiled.
The data center stood beneath an abandoned bank.
Daniel and Thomas entered first.
Walsh waited.
“You're late.”
Thomas smiled.
“I've been dead four years.”
Walsh didn't laugh.
“Code.”
“No.”
Walsh pointed a gun at Daniel.
“Code.”
Thomas looked at Daniel.
Daniel shook his head.
“Don't.”
Thomas sighed.
“You always were annoyingly heroic.”
Walsh fired.
The bullet struck Daniel's leg.
He collapsed.
Thomas shouted.
Walsh aimed again.
“Code.”
Thomas gave it.
The archive began uploading.
11:41 p.m.
Nineteen minutes until release.
Evelyn and Marcus entered through a maintenance shaft.
Gunfire echoed.
Marcus moved ahead.
Evelyn found Daniel.
“Are you insane?”
He stared at her.
“You came?”
“Obviously.”
“I told you not to.”
“I stopped following your instructions around the time you admitted stalking me.”
Despite bleeding, Daniel smiled.
“I deserved that.”
She helped him stand.
“Where's Dad?”
“With Walsh.”
“Upload?”
“Started.”
“How do we stop it?”
“Two authorization keys.”
“Where?”
“Thomas has one.”
“And the other?”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“You.”
She stared.
“What?”
“Your biometric signature.”
“Of course.”
They reached the server room.
Walsh held Thomas at gunpoint.
Marcus approached from the opposite side.
“It's over, Commissioner.”
Walsh laughed.
“Look around.”
The upload showed 81%.
“It ends in seven minutes.”
Thomas saw Evelyn.
“Evie.”
“Don't.”
“Fair.”
Walsh grabbed Thomas.
“Back up.”
Marcus lowered his weapon slightly.
Evelyn moved toward the terminal.
Walsh noticed.
“Stop.”
She continued.
“I said stop!”
Daniel stepped between them.
Walsh fired.
Daniel jerked.
Evelyn screamed.
Daniel collapsed.
This time the bullet entered his abdomen.
Marcus fired.
Walsh dropped.
Thomas grabbed the second authorization key.
“Evelyn!”
She ran to the terminal.
95%.
“Hand.”
Thomas pressed her palm against the scanner.
ACCESS DENIED.
“What?”
Thomas stared.
“No.”
97%.
“Again!”
ACCESS DENIED.
Evelyn panicked.
“Why isn't it working?”
Thomas looked at the screen.
Then his face changed.
“The heir signature was modified.”
“By whom?”
“Margaret.”
99%.
Daniel groaned behind them.
Evelyn looked at the screen.
“What do we do?”
Thomas stared at the terminal.
Then understood.
“The baby.”
“What?”
“Hope.”
“She is the newest Carter heir.”
“She isn't here!”
Thomas grabbed Daniel's phone.
“Her newborn screening records.”
Evelyn understood.
Hope's DNA profile.
Daniel had a copy because of the paternity test.
They uploaded it.
99.8%.
The system requested verification.
Evelyn pressed her hand to the scanner again.
HOPE WHITMORE — DESCENDANT VERIFIED.
TERMINATE WILLOW?
YES.
Evelyn pressed it.
The upload froze at 99.9%.
Then the servers began shutting down.
Thirty years of Project Willow disappeared from the network.
Thomas stared at the dark screens.
“It really is over.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“No.”
Police sirens approached.
“You still have to answer for what you did.”
Thomas nodded.
“I know.”
Evelyn rushed to Daniel.
Blood covered his shirt.
“Stay with me.”
He smiled weakly.
“You're really bossy.”
“Shut up.”
“That too.”
“Daniel.”
His eyes began closing.
“Don't you dare.”
“I love you.”
“No.”
Evelyn pressed her hands against his wound.
“You don't get to say that like goodbye.”
His breathing weakened.
“Take care of Hope.”
“We're both taking care of her.”
“Evelyn.”
“Both of us.”
He looked at her.
Then his eyes closed.
Paramedics rushed inside.
They pulled Evelyn away.
She screamed his name.
Thomas stood beside her.
For once, he had no clever answer.
No secret.
No manipulation.
Only grief.
Daniel's heart stopped inside the ambulance.
Paramedics began CPR.
Evelyn watched from another vehicle.
One minute.
Two.
Three.
No heartbeat.
Then the ambulance doors closed.
Evelyn didn't know whether the man she loved had survived.
At 12:07 a.m., her phone rang.
Hospital.
She answered with shaking hands.
“Mrs. Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
“This is Dr. Reynolds.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Tell me.”
May you like
The doctor paused.
And Evelyn knew the next sentence would determine the rest of her life.
