Thomas shook his head.

“They sealed the public entrance. They never found the original access tunnel.”

He pressed his hand against a section of the wall. A hidden panel opened, revealing a narrow staircase.

Daniel Whitmore appeared at the far end of the corridor, supported by a metal walking frame.

“Thomas,” he said.

Thomas turned.

“Daniel.”

The two men looked at each other with the sadness of people who had spent decades carrying the same secret.

“You're still alive,” Daniel whispered.

“Barely.”

Daniel looked at Olivia.

“You have your father's eyes.”

Olivia stepped toward him.

“Did you know who he was all this time?”

“I knew he was alive. I didn't know whether he had managed to contact anyone.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

Daniel lowered his head.

“Because I was afraid that if you knew, they would use you to reach him.”

Olivia looked at the old man for a long moment.

Then she nodded toward the staircase.

“We can discuss the past after we get out of here.”

They descended into the lower archive.

The staircase opened into a vast underground chamber. Rows of metal cabinets lined the walls. Some were covered with dust, while others appeared to have been opened recently.

At the center of the room stood a large steel table.

On it lay a collection of folders, photographs, and sealed envelopes.

Thomas approached the table.

“This is it,” he whispered.

“The original Nightfall archive.”

Porter moved closer, studying the documents.

“Look at these dates. Some of these records go back thirty years.”

Rebecca opened a folder and found a list of names.

“Police officers. Judges. Prosecutors. Private security executives.”

Olivia looked over her shoulder.

Then she saw something that made her blood run cold.

Her own name appeared on the final page.

Beside it was a handwritten note:

OLIVIA BENNETT — FINAL PHASE: ACTIVATE WHEN SHE DISCOVERS THE ORIGINAL RECORDS.

Beneath the note was a date.

Tomorrow.

Olivia looked at Thomas.

“What does this mean?”

Her father studied the page.

His face became pale.

“It means they expected you to come here.”

“Who wrote it?”

Thomas turned the paper over.

There was a signature.

Not Caldwell's.

Not Grant's.

Not Reynolds's.

It belonged to someone Olivia had known for years.

Someone who had stood beside her during the investigation and promised to protect her.

Someone whose name she had never suspected.

Special Agent Thomas Walker.

Olivia slowly turned toward him.

Walker stared at the page.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he lowered his weapon.

“Olivia,” he began, “I can explain.”

Rebecca immediately raised her gun.

“Don't move, Walker.”

Porter stepped between them.

“Tell us the truth.”

Walker looked at Olivia.

“I didn't write that.”

“Your signature is right there.”

“Someone copied it.”

Thomas Bennett moved closer to his daughter.

“Whoever wrote this knew exactly how to make you distrust the people around you.”

Olivia kept her eyes on Walker.

“Then tell me something only you would know.”

Walker swallowed.

“The night we found Sarah Miller, you told me you were afraid you were becoming like the people you were investigating. You said that if you ever started believing the ends justified the means, I had to stop you.”

Olivia remembered the conversation.

It had happened in a small safe house after Sarah had revealed the first evidence of Project Nightfall.

Walker continued.

“I told you that you would never have to face that alone.”

“That doesn't prove anything.”

“No,” he said quietly. “It doesn't.”

He slowly reached into his jacket.

Rebecca tightened her grip.

“Hands where I can see them!”

Walker stopped.

Then he carefully removed a small envelope and placed it on the table.

“There's something else you need to know. I've been receiving messages from an unknown source for the past three months. The first one contained a photograph of my daughter.”

Olivia's expression changed.

“Your daughter?”

Walker nodded.

“They threatened to kill her if I didn't report your movements. I thought I could feed them false information while protecting you. But someone inside the agency discovered what I was doing.”

He pointed toward the signature.

“They didn't just copy my name. They used the access code attached to my security clearance.”

Rebecca lowered her weapon slightly.

“Who has access to that code?”

Walker looked at Olivia.

“Only three people.”

“Who?”

“Me. Director Reynolds. And Michael Grant.”

Before Olivia could answer, a loud alarm began sounding throughout the archive.

A digital screen on the wall flickered to life.

A countdown appeared.

09:59

Daniel Whitmore stared at it.

“They've activated the purge system.”

“What does that mean?” Olivia asked.

Thomas Bennett moved toward the screen.