Chapter 4 - The Vanishing Evidence
The red indicator light on the hallway surveillance dome flickered once and then died completely, plunging that section of the corridor into an eerie, unrecorded vacuum. Marcus felt a cold sweat bead along his hairline. Vanguard Financial was known for having military-grade security, redundancy systems that supposedly could not be breached even by a direct cyberattack. Yet, with a few clicks on her encrypted tablet, Elena Vance had blinded the entire floor.
"You're tampering with a crime scene," Marcus said, his voice trembling slightly despite his best efforts to maintain professional composure. He kept his right hand resting securely on his service weapon, though he knew regulations prohibited him from using lethal force against an unarmed corporate executive, no matter how corrupt she appeared.
"I'm simply protecting proprietary assets, Officer Reed," Elena corrected smoothly, adjusting her cuffs with immaculate precision. She cast a dismissive glance down at Maya, who was now shivering violently against the pale drywall, her breathing shallow and ragged. "Your wife is bleeding out on company property, and you're worried about a security feed? Perhaps your priorities are as misaligned as your bank accounts."
"Marcus... please," Maya whispered, her trembling fingers catching the hem of his uniform trouser leg. A dark puddle of coffee and blood continued to spread across the pristine white tiles between them. "She... she has the flash drive. The physical backup of the real ledger. It's in the lining of her briefcase. If the ambulance gets here before we secure it, she'll destroy the drive, and the federal investigators will pin everything on you."
Elena's face tightened imperceptibly at the mention of the briefcase. Her eyes darted toward the leather designer bag sitting on a nearby mahogany bench.
"Delusional to the very end," Elena hissed, though a bead of sweat rolled down her carefully contoured cheek.
Heavy footfalls echoed up the stairwell at the far end of the corridor. Two uniformed patrol officers, breathless and wide-eyed, rounded the corner with their heavy flashlights drawn.
"Officer Reed! Dispatch sent us—what the hell happened here?" the lead officer shouted, lowering his flashlight as he recognized his colleague standing over a bleeding pregnant woman.
"Secure the perimeter," Marcus commanded, pointing toward Elena and the mahogany bench. "Detain that woman. Confiscate her briefcase immediately. Do not let her touch the contents."
Elena didn't resist as the two patrol officers stepped forward, grabbing her arms with visible hesitation. But as they reached for the leather briefcase, Elena let out a sharp, chilling laugh that echoed off the sterile walls.
"You can take my bag, boys," Elena said, her voice dripping with venomous triumph. She raised her wrists willingly for the cuffs. "But you might want to check who owns the patent on the encryption algorithm inside that drive. Hint: it's not Vanguard Financial. It's the Department of Homeland Security."
May you like
The two officers froze instantly, looking back at Marcus in absolute terror.
---
