“What did you do?”
Elizabeth looked at Olivia.
“I recorded everything.”
The central screen suddenly illuminated again.
PUBLIC RELEASE: 47% COMPLETE.
Walker recovered his balance and returned to the terminal.
“Grant is trying to block the transmission. I need the second authentication key!”
Thomas, bleeding from his lip, pulled himself upright.
“It's in the metal box!”
Olivia opened the box and found a small silver key hidden beneath the photographs.
She handed it to Walker.
He inserted it into the terminal.
The screen changed.
SECOND AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED.
The transmission accelerated.
Arthur stared at the screen.
“You can't do this.”
Olivia looked at him.
“You spent twenty years making people disappear. You made my father abandon his family. You imprisoned Daniel. You threatened Sarah's brother. You turned innocent people into criminals.”
She stepped closer.
“And now the whole world will know.”
Arthur's face twisted with rage.
“You think the truth will save you?”
“No,” Olivia replied. “But it will give everyone else a chance to fight back.”
The transmission reached one hundred percent.
PROJECT NIGHTFALL ARCHIVE SUCCESSFULLY RELEASED.
For the first time in twenty years, the complete records were outside the control of the people who had created them.
Walker checked his phone.
“It's gone. Multiple independent servers have received the files.”
Rebecca received a call.
She answered, listened, then looked toward Olivia.
“Federal teams are moving to secure the listed locations. The witness protection orders have been suspended. Jason Miller has been found.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
“Jason?”
Rebecca nodded.
“He's alive.”
Sarah began crying.
Olivia felt a wave of relief.
But Arthur was not finished.
He slowly stepped away from Thomas and looked at the terminal.
“You have released the records,” he said. “But you haven't released the money.”
Olivia frowned.
“What?”
Arthur smiled.
“The account still exists. And the person who controls it has never been in this room.”
He pointed toward the screen.
A final message appeared.
ULTIMATE ACCOUNT AUTHORITY: UNIDENTIFIED BENEFICIARY.
Thomas moved closer.
“That's impossible.”
Arthur looked at him.
“You should know better. You designed the system.”
Olivia stared at the message.
“Who is the beneficiary?”
Arthur's smile widened.
Then the screen displayed a name.
DANIEL WHITMORE.
Olivia looked at the judge's husband in disbelief.
“Daniel?”
Arthur nodded.
“Twenty years ago, Daniel discovered where the original Nightfall money had been hidden. He was the only person who could legally claim it. We kept him alive because we needed his authorization.”
“But why would he agree to be the beneficiary?” Olivia asked.
Arthur leaned closer.
“Because he never intended to destroy Project Nightfall.”
The room fell silent.
Olivia felt her stomach tighten.
Daniel had been the man they had spent the entire investigation trying to rescue. He had appeared to be their strongest witness.
But now Arthur was claiming that Daniel had been part of the conspiracy from the beginning.
Walker shook his head.
“That's another lie.”
Arthur smiled.
“Then ask him.”
Olivia turned toward the entrance.
Judge Eleanor Whitmore stood there, her face pale.
Behind her was Daniel.
He looked at Olivia.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he slowly nodded.
“It's true,” he whispered.
Eleanor stepped backward.
“Daniel?”
He lowered his eyes.
“I'm sorry, Eleanor.”
Olivia stared at him.
“What did you do?”
Daniel looked toward the terminal.
“I didn't create Project Nightfall. But I helped finance its first operation.”
Thomas looked horrified.
“Why?”
Daniel's voice trembled.
“Because I believed it would protect people. I thought we could use the system to expose criminals without allowing corruption to destroy innocent lives.”
Arthur laughed.
“And when you discovered what it had become, you wanted to walk away. But you had already signed the documents.”
Daniel looked at Olivia.
“I tried to stop it. I really did.”
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“You let me believe you were an innocent victim.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I was a victim. But I wasn't innocent.”
A new message appeared on the terminal.
ULTIMATE BENEFICIARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
The screen displayed two options.
ACCEPT CONTROL OF FUNDS.
REJECT CONTROL OF FUNDS.
Olivia looked at Daniel.
“What happens if you accept?”
“The money remains under the original trust,” he replied. “It can be distributed according to the original agreements.”
“And if you reject?”
“The entire account will be frozen permanently. The money will become subject to a court-supervised investigation.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Don't let him reject it. That money belongs to the people who built this system.”
Daniel looked at the senator's former ally.
“No. It belongs to the people you stole it from.”
Arthur's face hardened.
Daniel approached the terminal.
But before he could press either option, a new message appeared.
BENEFICIARY STATUS: DECEASED.