Chapter 10 - The Unseen Twist
The hinge exploded outward with a shower of rusted iron flakes, and the entire cage door ripped off its mount, crashing into the rising water.
I grabbed Maya, hoisting her onto my shoulders, and waded through the chest-deep water toward the emergency exit doors. Using the heavy tire iron as a lever, I jammed it into the heavy steel seal of the exit door and leaned my entire body weight into it with a primal scream.
The heavy gears groaned, gave way, and the door burst open into the cool, damp night air of the courtyard.
We collapsed onto the wet gravel, coughing, shivering, and gasping for air. Sirens wailed in the distance—real ones this time, accompanied by flashing red and blue lights bouncing against the stone walls of the asylum.
Detective Vance and a tactical team swarmed the courtyard, guns drawn, led by a familiar figure handcuffed in the back of a police transport van.
Julian.
As Vance ran toward us with thermal blankets and medics, Julian stared out the barred window of the van. But he wasn't looking at me with rage or defeat. He was smiling. A broad, triumphant, sickening grin that made my blood run colder than the asylum water.
I wrapped Maya tightly in the blanket, handing her over to a paramedic, before walking slowly toward the police van where Julian sat.
"You lost, Julian," I said, my voice trembling with exhaustion and adrenaline. "The police are here. It's over."
Julian chuckled, leaning his head against the metal screen of the van partition. "Lost, David? Oh, my sweet, simple friend. You think I was hiding Maya to terrorize you?" He tilted his head, his smile widening. "Check your pocket again. The USB drive isn't empty."
My stomach dropped. I pulled the black flash drive from my jacket pocket, staring at the small blinking red light.
"While you were busy playing hero in an abandoned asylum," Julian whispered softly through the glass, "my automated server just transferred a very specific, highly encrypted file to every major news outlet, federal agency, and judicial server in the country."
May you like
"What did you send?" I demanded, grabbing the bars of the van.
"Proof that the bodies in the pool weren't neighbor kids, David," Julian laughed softly as the van engine revved and pulled away into the dark night. "They were the children you accidentally hit with your car three years ago while driving drunk—the very secret accident that Elena covered up for you, and the real reason you two divorced in the first place."
