Chapter 9 - THE ENGINEER THEY TRIED TO ERASE
I took control of the construction radio.
The site superintendent initially refused to follow my instructions.
He had been told I was under investigation for falsifying plans.
Detective Ortiz placed the recovered emails in front of him.
“Her credentials were stolen.”
“Listen to her.”
I ordered all heavy equipment shut down.
I told the tactical team to avoid the eastern stairwell.
Then I asked the fire department to brace the excavation wall using steel beams stored near the loading area.
The superintendent hesitated.
“That will take an hour.”
“You have twelve minutes.”
I could hear strain moving through the temporary structure.
Metal does not scream the way people do.
It groans.
It clicks.
It gives warnings to anyone willing to listen.
Adrian had counted on no one believing me.
That mistake endangered him too.
A police drone reached the thirty-sixth floor.
It found Maya’s children inside the refuge room.
Julian stood near the crane platform holding a gun.
The children were behind a concrete divider.
The tactical team could not approach without crossing an open corridor.
Maya took the radio.
“Julian.”
He answered after several seconds.
“You brought Claire.”
“Yes.”
“She caused this.”
“No.”
“You spent seven years teaching me that every consequence was caused by the person who resisted you.”
“I do not believe you anymore.”
Julian’s breathing became louder.
“Give me the server.”
“It is already with federal investigators.”
“You are lying.”
“I hope they play every recording in court.”
The children began crying in the background.
Maya closed her eyes.
“Let them walk into the stairwell.”
“They are my children.”
“They are not your property.”
Julian fired into the ceiling.
The radio filled with screams.
The tactical team moved.
At the same moment, a deep crack came through the tower’s lower levels.
The excavation wall shifted.
I shouted into the command channel.
“Everyone off the eastern side.”
Dust exploded from the basement entrance.
Adrian appeared on a security camera carrying a metal evidence case.
He ran toward the service tunnel.
May you like
Behind him, the laboratory ceiling began collapsing.
The same unsafe design he tried to hide was closing around him.
