Chapter 14: The Final Stand
The rain began to fall harder, turning the dirt path of the observatory courtyard into thick, clinging mud. Sarah stared at her brother, her military training instantly kicking in to override the panic threatening to paralyze her vocal cords.
"We have to go back," Sarah declared, her voice cold, flat, and absolute.
"Sarah, that's suicide," Marcus argued, grabbing her arm. "The entire federal marshal service and Robert’s private security detail are blanketing the district looking for this vehicle. If you walk back into their line of sight, they won't just take Lily—they'll lock you both away under a military secrecy act."
"Then we don't go as fugitives," Sarah said, pulling her phone from her pocket and opening a secure encrypted channel to the Inspector General’s internal whistleblower hotline. "We go with federal backup."
She pressed the transmit button, broadcasting the high-resolution UV scans of the financial documents and the micro-ink code directly to the duty desk of the Pentagon's internal affairs division, attaching David’s last known telemetry signal from the Arlington safehouse.
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Within ninety seconds, the secure line buzzed with an incoming priority response. A crisp, authoritative voice answered: Captain Vance, this is General Thomas. We have received your data burst. MP tactical units have already been dispatched to intercept Agent Miller and secure Major Vance at the safehouse location. Remain in your current position until federal transport arrives.
Sarah let out a long, ragged breath, sliding her phone back into her pocket. She looked back at the Ford where Lily was resting quietly, eating her snacks and watching the rain streak down the window glass. The nightmare was almost over. The web of lies Robert had spun for decades was finally unraveling under the unyielding weight of truth.
