Chapter 33 - The Ghost in the Network
Thirty minutes later, the grand hotel was surrounded by flashing blue and red emergency lights. Swat teams swept the perimeter, and paramedics tended to the injured guests, but my focus remained locked inside Julian’s fortified mobile command center parked two blocks away.
Leo had finally succumbed to exhaustion, sleeping soundly wrapped in Julian’s heavy coat on the leather bench, a small teddy bear clutched firmly under his chin. I sat beside him, watching his steady breathing, refusing to let my hand leave his back.
"The sniper on the balcony had untraceable forged papers," Julian said, his fingers flying across multiple glowing monitors displaying encrypted financial transactions and traffic camera feeds. "He was an ex-mercenary out of Eastern Europe. But that's not what bothers me, Clara."
I turned to him, my eyes narrowing. "What is it?"
"The security grid for the gala," Julian explained grimly, turning a monitor toward me. "It was encrypted with 256-bit military-grade encryption. The blackout wasn't caused by an external EMP. Someone entered an authorized master administrator code from an internal device fifteen minutes before Arthur’s call."
A cold dread crept down my spine. "Only three people possessed that master override key. You, me... and Evelyn."
Evelyn Vance was my chief financial officer and legal trustee for the newly established children's sanctuary. She had been by my side since my return from Singapore, managing the Sterling asset liquidations, appearing devastated whenever Leo's scars were mentioned.
"She didn't leave through the main ballroom doors during the evacuation," Julian added, pulling up a timestamped security capture from the parking garage. "She walked down the service elevator five minutes before the lights went out. A courier delivered an envelope to her vehicle this morning."
I stood up, the pain in my bruised knees completely forgotten. The betrayal tasted bitter, like ash in my mouth.
"She handed my son's life over on a silver platter," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Find her vehicle, Julian. I want to look into her eyes before Arthur uses her as his next pawn."
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"Already tracked," Julian replied, locking onto a GPS signal moving rapidly toward the coastal industrial sector. "She’s heading for the old Sterling freight terminals. And she’s not alone."
***
