A junior logistics officer named Tomas Vale was assigned to accompany Ethan.Tomas appeared to be in his early thirties. He wore a simple VerdaLife uniform and carried an identification tablet containing the official warehouse addresses.Unlike Malcolm, he did not appear hostile.He looked confused.Tomas’s confusion quickly turned into shock when Malcolm’s assistant explained the assignment.For six years, his work had been simple. He entered delivery information into the logistics system, checked vehicle schedules and confirmed that documents had reached the correct departments. He had never investigated a supplier, inspected a medical warehouse or questioned a certificate approved by the national procurement director.Those responsibilities belonged to more experienced compliance officers.Yet without any warning, Tomas had been ordered to accompany Ethan Ward and physically inspect seven companies involved in millions of dollars’ worth of hospital transactions.The official verifi

Ethan noticed the pistol aimed at Tomas. “Do as he says,” he instructed calmly.Tomas slowly removed his hand from the phone and placed it where the gunman could see it.Ethan wanted to move between the weapon and the vehicle, but doing so too quickly could cause the nervous gunman to fire. He therefore remained still and allowed the attackers to believe they controlled the situation.The leader approached him while the other men maintained their positions around the vehicle.He extended one hand towards Ethan. “Now give me what we came for.”Ethan did not move. “What do you want?” he asked.“The tablet, the certificates and every copy of the warehouse report.”The demand did not surprise Ethan.He had expected Malcolm or the people behind the fake suppliers to make a move before he returned to the national office.Malcolm had never approved the inspection because he wanted the truth discovered. He had been forced to permit it after Ethan challenged the warehouse certificates in front

And why had Felix Dorn guaranteed seven warehouses that did not exist?The answers might eventually lead to the same person.He forwarded the message and the attackers’ photographs to Naomi through the hidden program on his phone.The secure program copied the evidence directly into the government’s confidential investigation system.It preserved the message, the time it had been received and the identifying information connected to the unregistered number. The photographs also recorded the attackers’ faces, weapons and vehicles before anyone could remove or alter them.Even if someone destroyed Ethan’s phone or the verification tablet, the evidence would no longer disappear with them.Ethan added a short note explaining that the attackers possessed information available only through VerdaLife’s internal system. He instructed Naomi to trace the unregistered number but warned her not to accuse Malcolm, Felix or anyone else until the connection had been proven.He also requested that th

However, Ethan was about to receive proof that Malcolm and Felix were communicating about the investigation.Several minutes later, the sound of an approaching engine reached the abandoned service station.Tomas immediately became tense. After the attack, the arrival of another unfamiliar vehicle could not be ignored.A black vehicle appeared on the road and slowed as it approached them. Unlike the grey vehicles used by the attackers, it carried visible registration plates and made no attempt to block the road.It stopped beside the VerdaLife vehicle.“Should we leave?” Tomas asked.“Not yet,” Ethan replied.Ethan wanted to know who had found them so quickly.Their location had not been released publicly. Apart from the confidential officers who had collected the attackers, only someone with access to VerdaLife’s verification system could know where the tablet was located.A well-dressed man stepped out.He was alone and carried no visible weapon. Instead of approaching aggressively,

“So Malcolm told you about me.”“Director Rane and I have worked together for many years.”Felix lifted his glass.“He said you were intelligent for a temporary worker.”“Did he also tell you the warehouses were empty?”Felix’s smile remained. “The addresses are outdated.”“All seven of them?”“Emergency medical operations change quickly. Supplies are moved between temporary storage facilities depending on demand.”“Then provide the current addresses.”“That information is confidential.”Ethan had expected that excuse.Emergency warehouse locations could be hidden from the public, but they could not be withheld from an authorised VerdaLife inspection. If medical equipment had been moved, Dorn Emergency Logistics was required to record the new storage addresses, transportation dates and receiving officers inside the national delivery system.None of those records existed.The only documents available were the certificates Felix had signed for the seven false addresses.More importantly