Chapter 11 - The Micro-SD Card
Zoe stared down at the tiny black rectangle resting on the floor between her sneakers. The studio was dead silent, save for Maya’s soft, exhausted breathing beside her.
"What is that?" Maya whispered, wiping her tear-stained cheeks with the back of her hand as she leaned in closer to inspect the object.
"I don't know," Zoe murmured, carefully reaching out and picking up the micro-SD card between her thumb and forefinger. "Sterling didn't mention this. He thought I only had the paper documents."
Zoe looked around the cavernous, dimly lit studio. The federal agents had confiscated all the computers and office files, but they had completely missed this tiny piece of digital media that had been hidden inside the decoy envelope.
"Your phone," Maya suggested suddenly, her eyes widening with a spark of hope. "Does it have a card reader slot?"
"No, but the old laptop in the costume storage room does," Zoe replied, jumping to her feet with a newfound surge of energy. "Coach Vance used it to pull costume inventories. It's not connected to the academy's main network, so the feds probably didn't touch it."
Without wasting another second, Zoe sprinted toward the back costume storage area, Maya trailing closely behind her. The room was crammed tight with racks of glittering tutus, sequined jazz costumes, and old pointe shoe boxes covered in thick layers of dust.
Zoe pushed past a rack of velvet Nutcracker soldier uniforms and located the dented, silver laptop sitting on a cluttered wooden workbench. She plugged the laptop into the wall outlet, lifted the screen, and crossed her fingers.
The machine whirred to life, its ancient fan groaning loudly before the glowing desktop illuminated Zoe’s anxious face.
"Come on, boot up," Zoe muttered under her breath, tapping her fingers impatiently against the wooden bench.
She carefully slid the micro-SD card into the side port of the laptop. A moment later, a file explorer window popped open on the screen, displaying a single, encrypted folder labeled: PROJECT_CYGNUS.
"It worked," Maya breathed, leaning over Zoe’s shoulder. "Open it."
Zoe used the trackpad to click on the folder. A prompt immediately appeared on the screen, demanding an eight-digit decryption password.
"A password," Zoe muttered, her shoulders slumping. "Sterling didn't give me a password."
"Try my mom’s birthday," Maya offered quietly. "Or Coach Vance's name."
Zoe tried both. Incorrect password. Two attempts remaining.
"Wait," Zoe whispered, staring closely at the file name. Project Cygnus. Cygnus was the constellation, but in ballet terms, it was the swan—the core theme of Swan Lake.
"What year did your mother dance the principal role of Odette here?" Zoe asked quickly, turning to Maya.
"Nineteen-ninety-eight," Maya replied instantly. "June twelfth."
Zoe’s fingers flew across the keyboard, typing 06121998 into the prompt box, and hit Enter.
The screen flashed green. The folder unlocked, revealing hundreds of hidden video files, bank transfers, and voice recordings. Zoe clicked on the very first video file at the top of the list.
The video started playing. It was a security camera feed from the academy’s private VIP lounge, dated just three days ago. On the screen, Arthur Sterling wasn't talking to Coach Vance or Chloe. He was sitting across a mahogany table from someone else—someone whose face had been completely hidden in the shadows until the person leaned forward into the light.
Zoe’s blood ran ice-cold as she stared at the face on the screen. It wasn't Chloe. It wasn't even Coach Vance.
May you like
It was someone Zoe had known and trusted her entire life.
---
