Chapter 4 - The Safe House
The woman introduced herself only as Evelyn, an old archivist who had worked with Julian before he broke ties with the Vance Cartel. She ushered the girls through a labyrinth of narrow service alleys, bypassing street cameras and busy intersections until they reached the cellar entrance of an abandoned textile factory.
The air inside smelled of machine oil and dry rot. Evelyn locked three heavy iron deadbolts behind them, resting her hands against her knees as she caught her breath. Clara kept Lily behind her, the pocket watch buried inside her pink backpack.
"They used a paralytic neurotoxin on him," Evelyn explained, lighting a single kerosene lantern that cast flickering shapes along the damp walls. "It looks like sudden heart failure, but it keeps the mind awake. They need his retinal scan and his voice to open the consortium's ledger."
"He told us to run if he ever fell asleep outside," Clara said, her voice small but steady. "He said you had a radio."
Evelyn turned slowly, her face obscured by shadows. "I do have a radio, child. But your father never told me about a radio. He told me he would give you a key."
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Lily noticed Evelyn's right hand moving slowly toward her open coat pocket.
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