Chapter 5 - The Global Leak
"Two minutes, Ava," Marcus Croft’s voice boomed through the door, followed by the distinct, terrifying sound of a metal canister being dragged across the hardwood floor outside. They were setting up the acceleration chemicals for the fire.
Inside the panic room, my fingers were a blur on the keyboard.
"What are you doing, Ava?" Liam asked, his voice tight as he kept his eyes locked on the door, holding the iron poker ready for a final, desperate stand.
"I’m not trying to convince the local authorities anymore," I muttered, sweat dripping down my forehead. "Croft owns the federal prosecutor. He owns the local judges. But he doesn't own the international press. He doesn't own the global financial regulatory bodies."
I pulled up a hidden program I had developed during my time with the federal task force—a digital 'Dead Man’s Switch' connected to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the global banking compliance network in Switzerland.
"Ava, they're pouring the liquid," Liam warned, the distinct, chemical smell of gasoline beginning to seep under the crack of the door.
"Just ten more seconds," I gasped.
I entered my final personal decryption key—a string of numbers representing the date I finally walked out of Ethan's house.
Enter Command: UNRESTRICTED GLOBAL BROADCAST. Status: CONFIRMED.
"Zero hour, Mrs. Vance," Croft’s voice sighed. "A pity."
Before he could strike a match, a sudden, deafening chorus of cell phone alerts exploded from the other side of the door. Not just one phone, but multiple devices belonging to Croft and his tactical team began ringing and buzzing frantically with high-priority notifications.
"Sir," one of the henchmen outside stammered, his voice filled with sudden panic. "You need to look at this. It's... it's everywhere."
"What are you talking about?" Croft snapped.
"The files... they didn't just go to the local FBI," the henchman yelled. "They just went live on the front pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and the Swiss Financial Authority's public registry. Every single transaction, every bribe, every name... your personal offshore accounts, sir... they’re fully exposed to the public. It’s a global dump."
Silence fell over the hallway outside. A heavy, suffocating silence.
Through the vent, we heard Croft curse under his breath, his aristocratic composure completely evaporated. "Get us out of here. Now! The international banking codes are compromised. Interpol will have a warrant out for me before the hour ends."
The sound of scrambling footsteps echoed through the house as the intruders abandoned the canister of gasoline and fled, realizing that killing me now would do absolutely nothing to stop the global wildfire I had just ignited.
Within ten minutes, the distant sound of police sirens—real, uncompromised federal agents dispatched by Washington after the international news broke—woke up the entire neighborhood.
Liam and I sat on the floor of the panic room, completely exhausted, listening to the sirens draw closer. We were alive. The evidence was out, and Marcus Croft was running for his life.
May you like
But as the police finally breached the front door to rescue us, my burner phone buzzed with a text message from an unknown, untraceable number.
You think you destroyed my empire, Ava? the text read. You forgot one thing. Ethan isn't in a federal cell yet. And a man who has lost everything has nothing left to lose. He’s coming for you tonight.
