Chapter 6 - The Courthouse Was a Trap, but the Circle Made One Mistake—They Thought Rebecca Was Still Afraid of ThemThe courthouse was abandoned.
We entered at midnight.
No lights.
No guards.
Too quiet.
I knew it was wrong.
Then Rebecca appeared.
She was tied to a chair.
Jake shouted:
“Mom!”
A voice came through the speakers.
“Put the box on the table.”
I did.
A man stepped from the shadows.
I recognized him.
A federal judge.
One of the city's most respected.
He was also one of the leaders of The Circle.
He smiled.
“Andrew.”
“You're finished.”
“We'll see.”
He opened the box.
The contents were empty.
The real evidence wasn't there.
The box had only carried the key.
The true files were encrypted elsewhere.
He looked confused.
“Where is the archive?”
I smiled.
“You thought we were stupid.”
The judge raised his weapon.
Rebecca suddenly kicked the chair backward.
She rolled onto the floor.
Jake moved.
I fired.
The judge's men scattered.
Rebecca grabbed Jake.
We ran.
The courthouse exploded behind us.
Not a bomb.
A fire.
The judge had planned to destroy evidence.
But we'd already copied everything.
The Circle began collapsing.
Their members turned on one another.
Then Elias arrived.
He handed me a flash drive.
“Your father left this.”
Inside were the names of everyone.
Every member.
Every account.
Every secret.
The entire network.
I could destroy them.
But I remembered my father's final message.
Choose what knowledge should do.
I didn't release everything.
Only the evidence of crimes.
People were arrested.
Victims were protected.
The network began collapsing.
But one person remained.
The leader.
And he wasn't the judge.
It was Rebecca's father.
Jake's maternal grandfather.
The man who had ordered the Christmas attack.
May you like
He had been hiding behind everyone.
And he wanted Jake.
Related Stories
