CHAPTER 7 – The Woman in Black Knew Everyone's Secrets
The hospital corridor fell into absolute silence.
Richard Voss collapsed onto the polished floor, his fingers still clutching the black flash drive.
Blood slowly spread beneath him.
The mysterious woman in black lowered her pistol without a trace of emotion.
Police officers raised their weapons.
"Drop the gun!"
She smiled.
"I've been waiting fifteen years for someone to say that."
Before anyone could move, she tossed the pistol across the hallway and raised both hands.
Jonathan stared at her.
"Who are you?"
She answered with a single sentence.
"The woman your wife sacrificed everything to protect."
Sarah's face turned ghostly pale.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The woman removed her sunglasses.
Emily gasped.
Jonathan's knees nearly gave out.
It was Victoria Hale...
Jonathan's younger sister.
The sister everyone believed had died in a car explosion sixteen years earlier.
Jonathan whispered,
"You were alive this whole time?"
Victoria nodded.
"I had to disappear."
She slowly walked toward Richard's lifeless body.
"He wasn't the mastermind."
"He was just the accountant."
Emily frowned.
"The accountant?"
Victoria looked directly at Jonathan.
"Richard never controlled the empire."
"He only handled the money."
"The real organization has operated in the shadows for decades."
She picked up the flash drive and handed it to Jonathan.
"You've spent fifteen years trying to clear your name."
"But this drive isn't evidence."
"It's a death sentence."
Jonathan plugged the flash drive into a nearby secure police laptop.
Thousands of encrypted files appeared.
Payments.
Secret recordings.
Blackmail photos.
Illegal contracts.
Names of senators.
Federal judges.
CEOs.
Movie stars.
Billionaires.
Even high-ranking law enforcement officials.
The detective standing beside Jonathan turned pale.
"Oh my God..."
"They own half the country."
Victoria nodded.
"And every one of them knows this drive still exists."
At that exact moment...
Every phone in the hospital vibrated simultaneously.
Doctors.
Nurses.
Police officers.
Patients.
Jonathan checked his screen.
One message.
Unknown sender.
DELETE THE FILE... OR EVERYONE YOU LOVE DIES BEFORE SUNRISE.
Emily looked around nervously.
Then she noticed something terrifying.
Every security camera in the hallway slowly turned...
Until every single one was pointing directly at Jonathan and his family.
Someone wasn't just watching them.
Someone was watching them live.
Then the lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the hospital.
A distorted voice echoed through the emergency speakers.
"Mr. Hale..."
"You've finally found the truth."
"Now let's see..."
"...how many members of your family survive long enough to tell it."
The emergency generator failed.
The hallway was completely black.
Then...
One by one...
Red laser sights appeared on Jonathan's chest.
On Sarah.
On Emily.
On little Ethan.
May you like
They weren't trapped with the enemy.
The enemy had been waiting for them all along.
