"Where's the ledger?"
Porter pointed toward an old metal cabinet.
"Bottom drawer."
Walker opened it.
Inside was a black leather folder.
He removed it carefully.
The folder contained hundreds of pages.
Names.
Dates.
Bank transfers.
Signatures.
And detailed records of payments made to officials over twenty years.
Olivia turned to Porter.
"Is this everything?"
"Almost."
"What do you mean?"
Porter struggled to sit up.
"There's another document. The one that explains why Daniel Whitmore disappeared."
Olivia leaned closer.
"Where is it?"
Porter looked toward the ceiling.
"Inside the wall."
An agent examined the indicated section and discovered a loose metal panel.
Behind it was a sealed envelope.
Olivia opened it.
The first page contained a photograph.
Daniel Whitmore.
Alive.
Taken several months after his disappearance.
On the back was a handwritten message.
I know who ordered my disappearance. And I know where the original Nightfall money went.
Olivia stared at the photograph.
Then she turned to Porter.
"James, where is Daniel?"
Porter closed his eyes.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Finally, he answered.
"He's alive."
Olivia felt her heart pound.
Eleanor Whitmore had spent twenty years believing she had lost her husband forever.
And now the evidence suggested that the man she had mourned was still somewhere in the world.
But before Olivia could ask another question, a gunshot echoed outside the station.
Walker shouted.
"Everyone down!"
The agents took cover.
Through the broken window, Olivia saw several black vehicles surrounding the building.
Men were approaching from both sides.
One of them carried a loudspeaker.
His voice echoed through the abandoned station.
"Olivia Bennett! We know you're inside. Put down the evidence and come out with your hands visible!"
Walker looked at her.
"They've found us again."
Olivia held the leather folder tightly.
This time, however, she wasn't afraid of losing the evidence.
Because she had already seen the names.
She had already heard the recordings.
And she now possessed proof that could expose a conspiracy stretching back twenty years.
She looked at James Porter.
"Can you stand?"
He nodded weakly.
"With some help."
Walker signaled the agents to prepare a defensive position.
Olivia looked through the window one more time.
Then she noticed a man stepping out of the largest vehicle.
He was wearing an expensive dark suit.
His face was familiar from countless television interviews.
Senator Richard Caldwell.
The man who had publicly promised to defend justice.
The man who had secretly financed Project Nightfall.
He raised a loudspeaker.
"Ms. Bennett, I believe it's time we discussed a reasonable solution."
Olivia stepped toward the window.
For twenty years, the truth had been buried beneath threats, fabricated reports, missing witnesses, and political influence.
But now the man responsible was standing outside.
And he had come personally to retrieve the evidence.
Olivia took a deep breath.
Then she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Senator Caldwell, you're under investigation for corruption, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. You should put down your weapon and surrender."
Caldwell laughed.
"You still don't understand, do you?"
Olivia stared at him.
"Understand what?"
He slowly raised a second photograph.
It showed an elderly man sitting beside a window.
The man had gray hair and a familiar face.
Daniel Whitmore.
Caldwell smiled.
"Your judge has spent twenty years waiting for her husband. Perhaps you'd like to tell her that he won't be coming home."
Olivia's blood ran cold.
Caldwell continued.
"Because if you don't hand over that ledger, the last person who knows where Daniel Whitmore is will disappear too."
The loudspeaker went silent.
Olivia looked at the photograph again.
Then she turned toward Porter.
"Where is Daniel?"
Porter's eyes filled with tears.
He whispered:
"He's being held at the same place where they kept the original evidence."
Olivia leaned closer.
"Where?"
Porter looked directly at her.
"Under the old courthouse."
A deafening explosion shook the railway station.
The lights went out.
And the battle for the truth entered its most dangerous stage.
The darkness lasted only a few seconds, but to Olivia Bennett, it felt like an eternity.
The explosion had thrown dust, broken glass, and fragments of old ceiling panels into the air. Somewhere nearby, metal crashed against concrete. A car alarm began screaming outside the station, followed by the sharp sound of gunfire.
“Olivia!” Walker shouted.
“I’m here!”
She struggled to her feet, one hand gripping the black leather folder. Her ears rang so loudly that she could barely hear anything else. Through the dust, she saw the faint outline of Walker crawling toward her.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“No. Where’s Porter?”
A weak voice answered from somewhere behind them.