"Did you shoot him?"
"Rebecca did. I was still coming up the stairs."
Rebecca approached them, breathing hard.
"He reached for his weapon. I had no choice."
Olivia nodded, but her attention had already returned to her phone.
Sarah's message remained on the screen.
THE FOURTH TRUSTEE IS NOT A PERSON. IT IS THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT.
She showed it to Walker.
He read it twice.
"That's not possible."
"Why?"
"Because the presidency cannot legally hold a private financial trust. It would be a constitutional nightmare."
"Unless the trust was never officially registered as a private financial trust."
Rebecca took the phone.
"She's right. If they built it through executive emergency authorizations, they could have concealed the structure inside classified government operations."
Walker looked toward the injured physician.
"Then this is bigger than Nightfall."
"It always was," Olivia replied.
A burst of static came through Walker's radio.
"Agent Walker, we have a situation outside."
He pressed the radio.
"Report."
"Chief Justice Harrington is leaving the scene. The hostage is still with him. A vehicle is moving toward the east entrance."
"Do not let them leave."
"We're attempting to intercept."
Olivia grabbed her coat.
Walker caught her arm.
"No."
"Sarah is out there."
"And we have no idea how many people Harrington brought with him."
"She may be the only person who knows where the missing part of the ledger is."
Walker looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca hesitated, then spoke.
"There's another way. The parking garage connects to the east service road. If we move through the basement, we may get ahead of them."
Walker shook his head.
"Too dangerous."
"Then give me another plan," Rebecca said. "Because standing here while Harrington drives away isn't one."
Olivia looked at the physician again.
"Ask him who sent him."
Rebecca crouched beside the injured man.
"Dr. Keller, you're going to answer some questions."
He smiled weakly.
"You don't understand what you've walked into."
"Then explain it."
Keller's eyes moved toward Olivia.
"Your father was never supposed to survive."
Olivia felt the words settle in her chest.
"Who ordered his disappearance?"
Keller coughed.
"Samuel Harrington approved it. But he didn't create the operation."
"Who did?"
The physician smiled again.
"You're still asking the wrong question."
"Then give me the right one."
"Ask yourself why your father was allowed to return."
Olivia stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
Keller turned his head toward Walker.
"Someone wanted him found. Someone wanted him reunited with his daughter. Someone wanted him to bring her back to the ledger."
Walker grabbed Keller's coat.
"Who?"
But Keller closed his eyes and said nothing more.
Rebecca checked his pulse.
"He's alive. He's just pretending to lose consciousness."
Walker stood.
"Keep him secured. No one takes him anywhere without my authorization."
Olivia looked at the open apartment door.
The entire situation had changed. Harrington had not merely discovered that she was investigating Account 001. He had anticipated her movements, placed Sarah in danger, and sent someone into her apartment.
But Keller's final words suggested that another person had been directing events from the beginning.
Someone who wanted Olivia to find the ledger.
Someone who had arranged her father's return.
Someone who might have used the entire Nightfall investigation to bring her exactly where they wanted her.
Her phone rang.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Olivia answered.
"Who is this?"
A woman's voice responded.
"Olivia, my name is Catherine Vale. I worked in the executive records office twenty years ago."
Olivia glanced at Walker.
"How did you get this number?"
"Your father gave it to me."
"My father is in the hospital."
"I know. That's why I'm calling you."
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere I hoped I would never have to return to."
"Tell me what you know about the fourth trustee."
Catherine was silent for a moment.
Then she said, "It wasn't the President personally. It was a position created inside the executive office. A position that could authorize funds, issue emergency directives, and conceal the identities of people involved."
"Who held it?"
"That information was removed from the official records."
"Who removed it?"
"Your father."
Olivia's grip tightened around the phone.
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he discovered the person holding the position was using it to authorize disappearances."
"Was it Harrington?"
"No. Harrington was a trustee, but he wasn't the fourth."
"Then who?"
Catherine lowered her voice.
"The fourth trustee was called the Custodian."
Olivia looked at Walker.
"Do you know who the Custodian is?"
"I know who the first Custodian was."
"Tell me."
Before Catherine could answer, a sharp noise sounded on her end.
A door slammed.
Someone shouted.
Catherine whispered, "They're here."