Chapter 6 - The Digital Trap
Within twenty minutes, William’s top forensic tech specialist, Sarah Chen, inserted the micro-drive into an isolated, air-gapped computer terminal inside the vault.
The screen flashed rapidly with lines of green code, deciphering heavy military-grade encryption.
"My God, William," Sarah breathed, staring at the monitor. "This isn't just a birth certificate."
William stepped up behind her chair. "What is it?"
"It's a complete video confession recorded by Arthur Sterling three days before he died," Sarah explained, tapping the keyboard. "Along with certified lab results from Johns Hopkins. Noah isn't just Arthur's son—he is Arthur's only legal heir. Arthur disinherited his corrupt board of trustees after discovering they were funneling money into illegal human trafficking and money laundering through Vance Logistics."
Emma stood near the sofa, holding the baby close. "Is that why they hurt my mom?"
"Yes," Sarah said softly, looking at the screen. "Your mother wasn't just a nurse. She was Arthur's trusted confidante. He gave her this drive so the trustees couldn't destroy it."
Suddenly, the red emergency lights inside the subterranean vault began to flash, accompanied by a low, rhythmic alarm horn.
WARNING: PERIMETER BREACH AT LEVEL 1.
Frank's voice blared through William's earpiece. "Boss! We've got a problem! Richard Vance just pulled up to the main building entrance with six city marshals! They have a federal seizure order for the building premises claiming we are harboring a kidnapped child!"
William’s jaw hardened. "He used his political connections to buy local marshals."
"They're forcing the garage gates right now," Frank added. "We have five minutes before they hit the vault door."
William turned to Sarah. "Upload the encrypted file to the Chief of Police, the Federal District Attorney, and every major news network in New York right now."
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"It's twenty gigabytes, William! It will take eight minutes to transfer over secure servers!"
William turned to Emma, picking up his jacket. "Frank, get the backup vehicle ready in the sub-tunnel exit. I'll buy us eight minutes at the vault doors."
