CHAPTER 9 — Sixty Seconds to Destroy an Empire
00:59
Richard Hawthorne stared at the countdown on his phone.
The blood drained from his face.
"No..."
He whispered.
"That's impossible."
Around him, armed men waited for orders.
Richard suddenly roared,
"GET INSIDE!"
"STOP THAT UPLOAD!"
The front door exploded inward.
Masked men flooded the house.
Glass shattered.
Furniture crashed.
Martin fired two warning shots, forcing the attackers to dive for cover.
Evelyn grabbed Lily's hand.
"Stay behind me."
The countdown continued.
00:47
Miles away, inside a secure government data center, encrypted files began appearing one after another.
Financial records.
Assassination orders.
Bribery payments.
Secret recordings.
Each file was automatically copied to hundreds of news organizations around the world.
Even if one server was destroyed...
A thousand more had already received the evidence.
Richard knew exactly what that meant.
His empire was about to become public property.
He grabbed his satellite phone.
"Shut down every server!"
The voice on the other end answered nervously,
"We can't."
"There are too many."
Richard slammed the phone against the wall.
For the first time in forty years...
The man who controlled presidents, judges, and billionaires had lost control.
Meanwhile...
Inside the house...
One masked man managed to reach Evelyn.
He aimed his gun directly at her chest.
"It's over."
Before he could pull the trigger—
BANG!
The man collapsed.
Victoria Hawthorne stepped into the room.
Everyone froze.
She was holding the smoking pistol.
Richard stared at his daughter in disbelief.
"Victoria..."
She looked at him with tears streaming down her face.
"I spent my whole life trying to earn your approval."
"You taught me that kindness was weakness."
"You taught me that power was everything."
She slowly lowered the gun.
"But you never taught me how to live with what we became."
Richard's eyes turned cold.
"You would betray your own father?"
Victoria nodded.
"No."
"I finally stopped betraying myself."
She turned toward Evelyn.
"I'm sorry."
"I know those words can never repair what I destroyed..."
"But my father killed thousands of innocent lives."
"If he escapes today..."
"He'll do it again."
The countdown reached—
00:15
Richard suddenly laughed.
A deep...
Terrifying laugh.
"You think you've won?"
He pressed a hidden button beneath his watch.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
Pressed it again.
Still nothing.
Evelyn quietly reached into her pocket.
She held up an identical watch.
Looking directly into Richard's eyes, she smiled.
"You've always believed you were the smartest person in every room."
"So three years ago..."
"I switched your emergency transmitter."
Richard's confidence shattered.
"You..."
"You were inside my office?"
Evelyn nodded.
"I wasn't your accountant by accident."
"I was your shadow."
The countdown continued.
00:05
Richard lunged toward Evelyn in desperation.
Federal agents burst through every entrance.
"FBI!"
"Don't move!"
Richard ignored them.
He reached for Lily.
Before he could touch her...
Martin tackled him to the floor.
Handcuffs snapped shut.
The timer reached—
00:00
Across the world...
Every screen changed.
Television stations.
News websites.
Financial markets.
Government databases.
One message appeared everywhere.
THE PHOENIX FILES ARE NOW PUBLIC.
Within minutes...
Cabinet ministers resigned.
International arrest warrants were issued.
Stock markets suspended trading.
Private banks froze billions of dollars.
Project Phoenix...
No longer existed.
Richard Hawthorne looked at Evelyn one last time.
"You destroyed my empire."
Evelyn shook her head.
"No."
"You built it on lies."
"I only turned on the light."
As federal agents led Richard away, Lily quietly took Evelyn's hand.
"Is it finally over?"
Evelyn looked toward the sunrise breaking through the shattered windows.
For the first time in twelve years...
She smiled without pain.
"I think..."
"It finally is."
But in the back of the police convoy...
Richard smiled.
Almost imperceptibly.
Because hidden inside his jacket...
Was a tiny flash drive no one had found.
And whatever was stored on it...
May you like
Made the world's most dangerous man believe...
The real game had only just begun.
