The silence in Davidson’s Bakery was heavy enough to crush. Sandra, the clerk, kept her hand hovering near the landline telephone, a smug, self-righteous sneer plastered across her face.

The wind howled through the skeletal steel frame of the unfinished Walker Affordable Housing Complex. The temperature had plunged well below zero.

Ethan was tied to a steel chair on the unfinished tenth floor, the sheer drop to the frozen ground below only feet away. Lily and Leo were huddled together in a corner, crying, guarded by two of Richard’s mercenaries.

Richard stood near the edge, looking out over the glittering, snowy skyline of the city.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Richard said, turning to Ethan. "Tomorrow, the news will report a tragic accident. A devastating fire at the construction site. The young, idealistic billionaire Ethan Walker, caught in the blaze alongside two tragic runaway children. The project will be deemed a total loss. I will collect the massive insurance payout, buy back the land, and build luxury high-rises instead."

"You won't get away with this, Richard," Ethan spat, blood dripping from his lip. "The board will know. The police will investigate."

"Investigate what? A pile of ashes?" Richard laughed. He pulled a remote detonator from his pocket. "I've already wired the lower levels with thermite. It burns hot enough to melt steel. There won't be any evidence left."

Richard walked over to Lily and Leo. He reached out to grab Leo.

"Leave him alone!" Lily screamed, biting Richard's hand hard.

"Ah! You little brat!" Richard roared, raising his hand to strike the child.

"Richard!" Ethan screamed, straining against his ropes, the metal chair creaking. "Look at me! You think you're the smartest man in the room? You didn't even check my laptop."

Richard paused, turning back to Ethan, rubbing his bitten hand. "What are you talking about?"

"The flash drive you took... it was a copy," Ethan lied, his heart pounding, trying to buy every second he could. "The moment I opened those files at the safe house, they were automatically uploaded to a secure cloud server. If my heart rate goes above a certain limit, or if I don't input a daily bypass code, those files are automatically sent to the FBI, the Attorney General, and every major news outlet in the country."

Richard's face darkened. He walked over to Ethan, pulling a pistol from his coat and pressing the cold barrel against Ethan's forehead.

"You're lying," Richard whispered.

"Try me," Ethan stared back, his eyes burning with absolute defiance. "Pull the trigger. See what happens to your empire tomorrow morning."

Richard’s hand shook. He was a greedy man, and greedy men are inherently cowards. He couldn't risk it.

"Tell me the password to delete the cloud upload," Richard demanded.

"Let the kids go first," Ethan said. "Let them walk down those stairs, and I'll give you the bypass code."

Richard stared at him, calculating. "Fine. But if you're lying to me, Ethan, I will personally throw you off this ledge." He turned to his guard. "Take the kids down to the lobby. Keep them there until I verify the code."

The guards grabbed Lily and Leo. As they were dragged away, Lily looked back at Ethan, her eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you, Ethan," she whispered.

Ethan gave her a soft, reassuring nod. I've got you, his eyes promised.

Once the children were out of sight, Richard sneered. "Now, Ethan. The code."

Ethan smiled. It was a cold, victorious smile.

"I don't need to give you a code, Richard."

"What?"

"Because I was lying about the cloud server," Ethan said softly. "But I wasn't lying about being prepared."