Chapter 36 - The Data Purge
"What did you do?!" the intruder yelled, dropping all pretense of calm as they lunged forward toward the kitchen island.
Anthony didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, tackling the intruder squarely in the chest. They crashed heavily against the kitchen cabinets, sending ceramic mugs shattering onto the tile floor. The flashlight went skittering across the room, casting erratic beams of light across the ceiling.
I didn't think; I moved. I grabbed the laptop off the counter, watching the progress bar on the screen tick upward frantically. *70%... 80%... 90%...*
My father’s automated script wasn't just purging the drive; it was uploading a encrypted copy of the files directly to a decentralized public server, making the research instantly accessible to federal oversight committees and investigative journalists worldwide. The very thing Vanguard Global had killed to keep hidden was about to become public domain.
"Let me go!" the intruder snarled, throwing a heavy elbow that caught Anthony in the ribs. Anthony grunted in pain but refused to release his grip, pinning the intruder against the refrigerator.
"Clara! Get Maya and get out of the house!" Anthony shouted over the blaring alarm and the scuffling.
"I'm not leaving without you!" I screamed back, just as Maya’s bedroom door burst open and she ran down the hall, crying in terror.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Maya sobbed, stopping short at the edge of the kitchen and covering her ears against the deafening alarm.
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Seeing Maya in immediate danger broke the intruder’s focus. With a sudden, violent burst of adrenaline, the intruder shoved Anthony backward, scrambled away from the refrigerator, and sprinted toward the open back patio door, disappearing into the rainy night just as the laptop screen flashed: *“UPLOAD COMPLETE. SYSTEM LOCKED.”*
The house fell back into a heavy, suffocating silence, broken only by Maya’s frightened sobs and our ragged breathing.
