Olivia turned toward him.
“Why are you telling us this?”
Reynolds smiled.
“Because you need me.”
Walker stepped forward.
“We don't need anything from you.”
“You need the location. You need the final access code. And you need someone who knows how to get through the vault's security.”
Rebecca approached him.
“Then tell us.”
Reynolds looked at Olivia.
“I'll tell you everything, but I want a guarantee.”
“What guarantee?”
“My immunity.”
Olivia stared at him.
“You helped imprison Daniel Whitmore. You helped frame innocent people. You ordered witnesses killed.”
“I also know where the evidence is.”
“You're not negotiating.”
Reynolds's smile disappeared.
“Then you will lose.”
Before anyone could move, he reached into his jacket and pressed a small device.
A loud alarm sounded.
The server room doors began closing.
“Get away from the exits!” Rebecca shouted.
Metal shutters dropped from the ceiling, sealing the main entrance. The lights flashed red.
Elizabeth grabbed Olivia.
“He's activated the emergency lockdown.”
Walker ran toward the door and tried to stop it, but the mechanism was already engaged.
“Can you reverse it?” Thomas shouted.
Elizabeth shook her head.
“Not from here.”
Reynolds stepped backward toward a narrow side passage.
“Goodbye, Olivia.”
Walker fired, but the bullet struck the wall beside him.
Reynolds disappeared through the passage just before the door slammed shut.
Olivia rushed after him.
“Stop!”
She reached the side passage, but another steel barrier dropped between them.
A small screen lit up.
LOCKDOWN DURATION: 15 MINUTES.
Porter examined the barrier.
“We're trapped.”
Sarah looked toward the server racks.
“Not completely.”
She pointed to a ventilation opening near the ceiling.
“There should be a maintenance shaft behind that panel.”
Walker looked up.
“Can it carry a person?”
“Small enough, yes.”
Rebecca helped him remove the panel.
Thomas turned toward Elizabeth.
“Where does the shaft lead?”
“To the old maintenance level. From there, we can reach the courthouse tunnel.”
Olivia looked at the screen.
The shutdown was still running, but the final release remained incomplete.
“Can the system keep working while we're gone?”
Elizabeth nodded.
“The shutdown process will continue automatically. But the final account won't be released until the physical authorization is completed.”
“Then we go to the vault.”
The maintenance shaft was narrow, dusty, and filled with old cables.
Walker went first, followed by Rebecca. Sarah crawled behind them. Porter needed assistance, so Thomas stayed close to him.
Olivia followed her mother.
For several minutes, the only sounds were their breathing and the distant vibration of machinery.
Then Rebecca stopped.
“There's someone ahead.”
A flashlight beam appeared in the darkness.
“Identify yourself!” Walker called.
A voice answered.
“It's me.”
Judge Eleanor Whitmore.
She was standing at the other end of the shaft with two marshals.
Olivia looked surprised.
“Judge? How did you get here?”
“Daniel told me where the maintenance entrance was. When Caldwell's men attempted to move him, my marshals intercepted the vehicle.”
“Where is Daniel?”
“Safe. He's with an independent medical team.”
Olivia felt relief wash over her.
“Thank you.”
The judge studied her face.
“Your mother?”
Elizabeth stepped forward.
“Eleanor.”
The two women looked at each other.
There was a history between them that Olivia did not understand.
“You knew,” Elizabeth said quietly.
Judge Whitmore nodded.
“I knew you were alive. I didn't know how deeply you were involved.”
“I tried to stop it.”
“You also helped build it.”
Elizabeth lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
The judge looked toward Olivia.
“Your mother has something she needs to tell you. Something about the final account.”
Olivia turned.
“What?”
Elizabeth took a breath.
“The account was never intended to belong to you. Your identity was used because I needed a way to preserve the money without allowing Caldwell to control it.”
“You could have told me.”
“I wanted to. But when I discovered that Caldwell had access to the account, I realized the system could be used to frame you.”
“So you stayed away?”
“I stayed close enough to monitor it. I changed records, redirected transfers, and tried to protect the money until I could expose the people behind it.”
Olivia shook her head.
“You could have trusted me.”
Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears.
“I know that now.”
Judge Whitmore interrupted.
“There's something else. The final vault contains more than financial records.”
“What else?” Walker asked.
“An original witness register. It lists everyone who was recruited into Project Nightfall, everyone who was threatened, and everyone who was killed to protect it.”
Porter looked at her.
“Does it identify the people who ordered the killings?”
“Yes.”
“Then that's what we need.”
The judge nodded.