Ninety Seconds in the Dark
Chapter 04 - Ninety Seconds in the Dark
Emergency lights flickered on, painting the glass corridor in deep blue.
Daniel pulled a small remote from his pocket. “The board may have fragments,” he said, “but the master archive is still inside this building. When the backup generators reset, I’ll wipe it permanently.”
Lila tried to stand and nearly fell. Evelyn caught her, then noticed the cable around Lila’s wrist was still glowing faintly. Mirror Protocol had its own battery, but the final folder remained frozen at ninety-eight percent.
Beyond the glass, two security officers appeared at the far door. Daniel spoke into the wall intercom. “Cross attacked Dr. Monroe. Detain her immediately.”
The officers hesitated. Daniel’s face was on every company brochure, while Evelyn’s name was already attached to the falsified access log.
Lila pressed her bracelet into Evelyn’s hand. “The last folder needs a second witness.”
Evelyn remembered the original design. If executive authorization became compromised, two verified employees could complete the transmission together—but only from opposite sides of the corridor. One of them had to reach the outer panel.
The glass doors were locked.
Then Evelyn saw a narrow maintenance release at floor level. She removed one heel, struck the cover twice, and exposed the manual lever beneath it. Daniel lunged toward her, but Lila stepped between them.
“You built your career by making everyone afraid to challenge you,” Lila said. “That ends tonight.”
The security officers saw Daniel shove her aside. One officer immediately overrode the inner lock. Evelyn slipped through before Daniel could stop her and pressed Lila’s bracelet to the outer scanner.
Inside, Lila placed her hand against the matching panel.
“Witness one confirmed,” the system announced.
Evelyn pressed her own palm beside the bracelet. “Witness two confirmed.”
The final folder transmitted.
Every screen in Helix Tower came alive with the same document: Daniel’s signed order to conceal the software defect, manipulate access records, and remove Lila from the project. His voice from the corridor played beneath it, repeating the sentence he could no longer deny: She should have understood what was at stake.
The officers entered and placed Daniel in custody. He continued insisting that the company would collapse without him.
Lila, pale but standing, looked through the glass at Evelyn. “Then we build something better.”
As Daniel was led away, the main lights returned.
A message appeared across the panel: TRIAL 17 PATIENT ALERTS SUCCESSFULLY SENT.
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The evidence had not only exposed him.
It had warned every patient in time.
