2026-09-10 19:32:32The footsteps outside Victoria’s office became heavier as more people joined the first man in the corridor. Ethan watched the door without moving, while Victoria quietly reached beneath her desk and retrieved a small security device.
“Private elevator,” she whispered. “It leads to the parking level.”
Ethan nodded.
Before they could move, the door opened.
The security officer entered with two men wearing dark suits.
“Mr. Cole,” the officer said. “You have made this unnecessarily difficult.”
Ethan remained calm.
“You followed me from the café.”
“We have been following you since last night.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“This is my office. You cannot enter without permission.”
The officer glanced at her.
“Miss Grant, this matter concerns the Cole family.”
“Then take your matter somewhere else.”
The officer ignored her.
“Give me the watch.”
Ethan touched his pocket.
“Why?”
“Because it belongs to your family.”
“My father gave it to me.”
“Your father made a mistake.”
The system appeared.
[Threat analysis complete.]
[Primary threat: Unknown.]
[Combat capability: Advanced.]
[Secondary threats: Moderate.]
[Probability of successful escape through main entrance: 18%.]
[Alternative escape route identified.]
Ethan looked toward the private elevator.
Victoria noticed.
“You can use it,” she said.
The officer stepped forward.
“I would strongly advise against running.”
Ethan smiled.
“I would strongly advise against telling me what to do.”
He grabbed the tablet from the desk and threw it toward the nearest man.
The man instinctively caught it.
Ethan moved immediately.
He pushed Victoria toward the elevator while stepping between her and the attackers. The first man lunged, but Ethan shifted aside and struck his arm, causing him to lose balance.
The security officer moved faster.
Ethan barely avoided his attack and felt the force of it pass close to his face.
[Warning: Host combat ability insufficient for prolonged engagement.]
He was not strong enough to defeat these men.
He needed to escape.
Victoria pressed the elevator button.
The doors opened.
Ethan entered first, followed by Victoria.
The security officer reached the doorway before it closed, but Ethan kicked the emergency barrier into place.
The elevator descended.
Victoria looked at him.
“You just attacked three men in my office.”
“They were trying to take something from me.”
“That does not answer my question.”
“What question?”
“Who are you really?”
Ethan looked at the watch.
“I am trying to figure that out myself.”
The elevator reached the parking level.
They stepped out and hurried toward Victoria's car.
She unlocked a black sedan.
“Get in.”
Ethan entered the passenger seat.
Victoria started the engine and drove out of the underground garage.
Then Victoria said, “Your father authorized that property transfer six years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain the signature was genuine?”
“I am not certain of anything anymore.”
Victoria glanced at him.
“That is the first sensible thing you have said today.”
Ethan almost smiled.
His phone vibrated.
Daniel had sent a message.
“I found another record. Adrian Cole made a payment six years ago to a private security company.”
Ethan immediately called him.
“What security company?”
“Blackstone Protective Services.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“Do they still exist?”
“They do, but there is something strange. Their current director is Victor Hale.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Victor Hale is dead.”
“That is what I thought.”
Daniel continued.
“I checked government records. The plane crash report was filed, but no body was officially identified.”
Ethan's pulse quickened.
“Send me everything.”
“I already did.”
Victoria glanced toward him.
“What did you find?”
“Someone we believed was dead may still be alive.”
“Victor Hale?”
Ethan looked at her.
“How did you know that name?”
Victoria's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Because my father once worked with him.”
Silence filled the car.
Ethan turned toward her.
“You never mentioned that.”
“You never asked.”
“Who was Victor Hale?”
Victoria hesitated.
“A private investigator.”
“An ordinary investigator?”
“No.”
Her voice became quieter.
“He specialized in cases involving powerful families, corporate corruption, and missing people.”
“My father hired him.”
“Possibly.”
“Then we need to find him.”
Victoria shook her head.
“If Victor is alive, he does not want to be found.”
Ethan looked at the system.
[Primary Mystery progress: 55%.]
[New clue discovered.]
[Potential location identified.]
[Blackstone Protective Services — Former Regional Office.]
[Probability of relevant evidence: 82%.]
Ethan memorized the location.
Then the system displayed another notification.
[Primary Trial update.]
[Current earnings: $1,700.]
[Required earnings: $10,000.]
[Time remaining: 15 hours.]
Ethan had nearly forgotten about the challenge.
“I need to make $8,300.”
She stared at him.
“Today?”
“Within fifteen hours.”
“That sounds impossible.”
“It probably is.”
Victoria considered him.
“Unless you know something I do not.”
Ethan looked at the road ahead.
“I know an opportunity.”
His Financial Insight activated.
[High-value market opportunity detected.]
[Estimated profit: $11,000–$18,000.]
[Risk level: High.]
“What is it?” Victoria asked.
“A company about to lose millions.”
“And you want to profit from it?”
“I want to prevent the loss and take a share of the opportunity.”
Victoria shook her head.
“You have been fired, hunted, and nearly attacked, yet you are already planning another business deal.”
“I cannot afford to stop.”
Victoria smiled slightly.
“Then perhaps I chose the right person to investigate.”
Ethan opened the market report.
A pharmaceutical company was facing a sudden supply shortage. Its stock had not yet reacted because the information remained private.
Ethan knew exactly what would happen once the market discovered the shortage.
He needed capital.
Victoria had it.
“I need a temporary investment,” Ethan said.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
She laughed.
“You were broke yesterday.”
“I know.”
“And now you want me to give you two hundred thousand?”
“I will return your money with profit before tomorrow morning.”
Victoria studied him.
“You are either incredibly confident or completely reckless.”
“Probably both.”
She laughed again.
“Fine. I will give you the opportunity.”
The system flashed.
[New partnership detected.]
[Trust established.]
[Mission objective updated.]
[Generate $10,000 profit.]
[Time remaining: 14 hours.]
Ethan now looked at the city ahead.
His fortune was within reach.
But somewhere beyond the city, another mystery was waiting.
And this time, Ethan intended to uncover the truth before his enemies could bury it again.
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The Witness who Could Not Answer
The countdown reached forty-seven seconds before Ethan ordered everyone to stop speaking.Nurse Amaka had been dead for six years. Her name appeared in the hospital's archived personnel records, her death certificate had been verified, and her employment file had been closed. Whatever was generating the notification had no right to demand a response from someone who could no longer give one.“Daniel, preserve the countdown exactly as it appears,” Ethan said. “Mara, confirm that nothing connected to this request can affect the hospital's doors, patient records, or medical equipment.”Daniel began recording the terminal's activity while Mara contacted the hospital's technical supervisor. The administrator moved the paper documents away from the screen and ordered staff to keep the corridor clear without disturbing Adrian or Elias.The countdown continued.WITNESS CONFIRMATION: 00:31.Daniel examined the notification's metadata. “The system isn't communicating with a nurse's account. It'
The Signature Before the Name
The timestamp on the authorization changed everything, but it proved less than the archive wanted them to believe. Adrian had entered Room 317 eleven years earlier; the replacement request had supposedly been approved during that same minute. The record offered no name, only a status that treated an unidentified custodian as an unquestionable authority.Ethan asked Daniel to compare the timestamp with the hospital's original ledger, not the reconstructed digital file. “We need to know whether these records were created together or joined later. Until then, nobody calls this Adrian's approval.”Daniel contacted the records officer, who retrieved a sealed storage box from the hospital archive. The box had remained untouched since the old ward system was retired. Two officials documented its condition before opening it, and Mara ensured the security team did not remove any page without recording the transfer.Inside lay a carbon-copy register, several maintenance sheets, and a narrow env
The Authorization that lied
Ethan stared at the hospital administrator's screen, where his name appeared beneath a request for access to Room 317. The authorization carried his executive credential, a valid signature, and a timestamp showing that the request had been submitted less than thirty seconds earlier.He had never touched the hospital access system.“Freeze the request,” he instructed. “Do not approve it, and do not reject it yet. Preserve the original record and create an independent copy.”The administrator contacted hospital security while Daniel examined the authorization through an isolated device. Victoria remained connected to the conference call, listening as the technical details emerged.“The credential is genuine,” Daniel said. “The signature matches Ethan's certificate, but that doesn't mean Ethan created the request. Someone may have copied the signing authority or used a system permitted to act under his certificate.”“Can you identify the originating device?”“The record lists the executi
The Voice behind the Wall
The ticking continued for eleven seconds before Ethan heard a voice coming from the sealed wall.“My name is not the question you should be asking.”Ethan remained beside the records cabinet, keeping the evidence tray within the hospital administrator’s view. Daniel had disconnected the terminal, but the isolated screen had awakened again, displaying a single line that neither of them had entered.ONE QUESTION REMAINS.“You agreed to identify yourself,” Ethan replied. “You cannot change the terms after I have honored them.”“I agreed to answer one question. I did not agree to answer yours.”Victoria joined through the secure call. “Then clarify the arrangement before anyone proceeds. If you expect cooperation, you must explain what you are offering and what you are asking in return.”The voice fell silent.Mara checked the corridor. No person stood near the wall, and the facilities manager confirmed that the sealed passage remained inaccessible. The ticking, however, continued. Its rh
The Room That Kept it's Time
The alert reached Ethan before the hospital called. Room 317 had registered an incoming visitor, but the timestamp placed the arrival eleven years earlier, during the night Adrian first entered Saint Orson Hospital and stopped responding. The visitor’s identity field was blank. The destination field was exact.Ethan ordered Daniel to preserve the alert and send a copy to the independent auditors. Victoria arranged a secure call with the hospital administrator, while Mara prepared a team to accompany Ethan without entering any restricted area. Nobody would open a door because a screen demanded it.“Room 317 is occupied by Adrian,” Daniel said. “The hospital’s live record confirms he is still there with Elias. But the visitor record is attached to an archived ward system that was supposedly retired.”“Supposedly?” Ethan asked.“The archive has no closure certificate. It has a maintenance note saying the ward system was disconnected, then a second note saying its clock would remain activ
The Call from Two Places
Ethan did not turn when the phone rang. The map still showed Elias Cole standing behind him, although the security feed showed an empty corridor and every officer on the floor had confirmed that nobody had passed the conference room.“Daniel, answer the call on speaker,” Ethan said. “Keep the line recording, and don’t merge it with the building system.”Daniel connected the call. “Elias, can you hear us?”“I can,” Elias replied. His voice sounded strained, as though he had been running. “Why are you calling me from the executive floor?”“We didn’t call you first. Your number called us.”“That is impossible. I’m at the hospital with Adrian.”Ethan watched the map. The marker remained behind him. “Can you see the executive floor on your end?”“No. I can see the call record. It says the call began from your office, but I didn’t place it.”Ethan kept his eyes on the empty doorway. “Then we have two records and no reliable account of who initiated this. We need to establish where you are w
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