CHAPTER 9 — The Secret Beneath Reed Global
Marcus stared at the remote.
"What is it?"
Victor smiled.
"Insurance."
Beneath Reed Global Headquarters...
Hidden below three underground parking levels...
Was a private vault.
Not filled with money.
But with evidence.
Illegal accounts.
Bribery records.
Government payoffs.
Murder contracts.
Enough secrets to destroy politicians, billionaires, and entire corporations around the world.
The remote wasn't connected to explosives.
It was connected to the vault's automatic incineration system.
One press...
Twenty years of evidence would become ashes.
Victor lifted his thumb.
"You can arrest me..."
"But you'll never prove anything."
Marcus's phone suddenly vibrated.
An unknown notification.
The flash drive.
Without anyone touching it...
A final hidden file had activated.
Its title read:
DEAD MAN'S SWITCH
Marcus opened it.
His father's recorded voice filled the room.
"If Victor ever reaches this point..."
"He'll try to destroy the vault."
"But he doesn't know..."
"I built a second system."
The screen displayed a countdown.
10...
9...
8...
Victor stared at Marcus's phone.
His confident smile vanished.
"What have you done?"
Marcus slowly smiled for the first time.
"I didn't do anything."
"My father did."
The countdown reached zero.
Every television inside Chicago suddenly switched channels.
Every news station.
Every financial network.
Every major website.
Simultaneously.
Millions of people watched confidential videos, bank transfers, hidden surveillance footage, and signed confessions begin broadcasting live across the world.
Victor looked down at his useless remote.
His greatest secret...
Had already escaped.
Police sirens echoed from every direction.
Helicopters filled the sky.
Federal agents surrounded the frozen lake.
Victor took one slow step backward.
Then another.
He looked at Marcus with pure hatred.
"You think this is over?"
Marcus answered calmly.
"No."
"It's finally beginning."
As agents closed in, Victor suddenly smiled.
"You still don't know the biggest secret."
Marcus frowned.
Victor leaned close enough for only Marcus to hear.
"The man you buried as your father..."
"...wasn't your biological father."
Before Marcus could react—
Victor pulled a hidden pistol from inside his coat.
May you like
A single gunshot shattered the silence.
And the screen of Marcus's phone went black.
