Chapter 9
1573words
Jason Johnson handed her a hot tea, his eyes bloodshot. "The Economic Crime Investigation Team has frozen thirty-seven accounts under Simon Shaw's name."
Emily didn't take it. "Your father has suffered a sudden heart attack in prison. He's in emergency care now."
The teacup shattered on the floor. Jason froze, his pupils contracting sharply.
"I see you didn't know," Emily pulled up hospital surveillance footage. "This is from ten minutes ago, your father being rushed to the ICU. And simultaneously..." she switched screens, "your phone signal appeared at the abandoned factory in the north of the city."
Jason's face turned deathly pale. "I've been here all night!"
"So someone has cloned your SIM card." Emily pointed to a red dot on the map, "This is Simon Shaw's true heart."
The red dot marked "Evergreen Foundation," which appeared to do charity work but was actually Simon Shaw's money laundering channel. When Emily Anderson thoroughly investigated all the clues, she discovered an unexpected name hidden in the foundation's list of directors—Captain Wilson.
The Economic Crime Investigation Team captain she had entrusted with the key.
"We must split up," Emily said as she got up to gather her equipment. "You go to the hospital to watch over your father, I'll go to the foundation."
Jason Johnson grabbed her wrist, "This is a diversion! They're deliberately drawing me away!"
"I know," Emily looked directly into his eyes. "But you can't not go—that's your father."
This was an open trap. They knew it was a trap but had to walk into it anyway.
An hour later, Emily walked alone into the Evergreen Foundation's glass tower. The receptionist greeted her with a smile: "Miss Anderson, the Chairman has been waiting for you."
The Chairman's office occupied the entire top floor. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, Captain Wilson stood with his back to her, his police uniform impeccable.
"Miss Anderson, you're braver than I imagined," he turned around, playing with the USB drive in his hand that should have been handed over to the Economic Crime Investigation Team.
Emily Anderson looked around, "Was Simon Shaw's imprisonment part of your plan?"
"Just sacrificing a rook to save the king." Captain Wilson smiled, "Old Simon was too stubborn, unwilling to adapt. New times require new strategies."
He pressed the remote control, and the wall turned into surveillance screens. Jason Johnson was pacing anxiously in the hospital corridor, but there was nobody in the ward. Further footage showed Mark Porter, Victoria Lambert and others being held at different locations.
"All your allies are here." Captain Wilson enlarged one of the screens—Claire Lee was tied to a chair with tape over her mouth.
Emily steadied her breathing, "What do you want?"
"The key your father left behind, the real one." Captain Wilson stepped closer, "Simon only told you about your mother, but did he tell you why your father had to die?"
The screen switched to show a yellowed agreement—beneath a photo of Emily's father with Captain Wilson were signatures for the joint development of the "New Beginning Project."
"Do you think that car accident was an accident?" Captain Wilson's eyes were cold. "Your father was the founder, and we three were partners. But he wanted to keep all the results to himself, so we had to deal with him."
Emily Anderson's nails dug into her palms. So her father wasn't a perfect victim either.
"Give me the key, and I'll let everyone go." Captain Wilson handed over the tablet. "Otherwise, every ten minutes, I'll deal with one of your friends. Starting with Claire Lee."
The tablet began counting down: 9:59...9:58...
Emily suddenly smiled. "You made a mistake." She pointed to Jason Johnson on the monitor. "Why do you think I care about them?"
Captain Wilson was stunned.
"My parents are dead, my company is gone, my husband betrayed me." Emily's voice was ice-cold. "These people are just pawns in my revenge."
The countdown continued. 8:47...8:46...
Captain Wilson narrowed his eyes, "I don't believe you."
"Then try it." Emily walked to the window. "You deal with them, and I'll jump down with the key. Let's see if you get what you want first, or if you'll be charged with driving me to my death."
She climbed onto the windowsill, the fierce wind tossing her long hair. This action she had rehearsed countless times in her mind—either win or die.
Captain Wilson's face changed. "You're insane!"
"Is that what you thought the day my father jumped off the building?" Emily Anderson smiled. "Unfortunately, you guessed wrong. He didn't take the key with him when he jumped. He put it..."
She deliberately paused, watching Captain Wilson hold his breath.
"...tattooed on my back."
These words struck like lightning. Based on the mysterious meridian chart her father had left behind that she'd discovered earlier, this bluff seemed incredibly real. Captain Wilson lunged forward, then forced himself to stop.
Countdown: 5:31...5:30...
"Let me guess," Emily whispered, "you're looking for the key not for money, but for a certain list—one that records everyone who has collaborated with you over the years."
Captain Wilson's pupils contracted.
At that moment, Jason Johnson's voice came through the mini earpiece in Emily's ear: "Location confirmed, in the foundation's underground vault. Strike team moves in three minutes."
She needed to stall for three more minutes.
"My father left a message for you." She looked at Captain Wilson, "'The greedy will eventually consume themselves'."
Captain Wilson suddenly drew his gun, "Get down! Or I'll immediately order Claire Lee's execution!"
"Go ahead." Emily Anderson spread her arms, "But if she dies, who will tell you how to decrypt the key?"
This statement hit the mark. Captain Wilson's hand holding the gun trembled slightly.
Countdown: 2:15...2:14...
Suddenly, an explosion sounded from downstairs. The entire building shook violently, causing Captain Wilson to stumble.
Emily seized the opportunity to jump back inside, pulling an electric baton from her sleeve. But Captain Wilson was faster, a bullet grazing her shoulder.
"Did you think I wouldn't be prepared?" he sneered as a weapons rack emerged from the wall, "This floor is sealed off, your strike team can't get in."
Blood gushed from Emily's shoulder. But she smiled, "Who said I was relying on a strike team?"
All surveillance screens suddenly went black, then jumped to the same image—Emily Anderson's previously recorded exposé video began playing automatically. The sound transmitted through the building's broadcast system:
"George Wilson, Chairman of the Evergreen Foundation, true identity is..."
Captain Wilson frantically shot at the broadcast equipment, but the sound continued. He turned to Emily Anderson, his eyes wild: "Then we'll die together!"
The entire floor began releasing anesthetic gas. Emily held her breath and rolled behind a desk, hearing Jason Johnson shouting in her earpiece: "The ventilation system has been compromised! We can't get in!"
The blast door was coming down. Through the last gap, Emily saw Claire Lee suddenly break free from her restraints and lunge toward the control panel.
"Emily, survive!" Claire pressed the override button, and the blast door suddenly paused.
Captain Wilson's bullet pierced through Claire Lee's chest.
"No!" Emily screamed.
Claire Lee was still smiling as she fell, mouthing: Avenge your mother.
In this moment, Emily Anderson fully understood her mother's choice—some things are worth protecting with one's life.
She grabbed Claire Lee's dropped key card and rushed toward the underground vault. Captain Wilson pursued closely behind, bullets flying past her.
The vault was filled with cash and gold bars, but Emily headed straight for the safe in the back. Following the hints in her father's notebook, she entered the password—her parents' wedding anniversary.
The safe door opened, revealing no money inside, just a thick stack of lists. Each page recorded names, positions, and bribery amounts, spanning twenty years.
Captain Wilson burst in, aiming his gun: "Put it down!"
Emily raised the list, "You're finished, George Wilson. This is enough to have you executed ten times over."
"Then you'll die with me!" He pulled the trigger.
A gunshot rang out, but it was Captain Wilson who fell. Jason Johnson stood at the doorway, his gun smoking.
"The one in the hospital was a body double." He kicked away Captain Wilson's gun, "My father died three years ago. Simon Shaw has been using this to control me."
Emily Anderson stared at the last page of the list—where Jason Johnson's father's name was recorded, with a note in the remarks column: "Coerced, protected."
So Jason hadn't completely lied.
Police sirens surrounded the building. Jason reached out his hand to her, "It's over, Emily."
Emily looked at the list and shook her head gently. "This is just the beginning."
The names on the list were connected to a much larger network. George Wilson had fallen, but the powers behind him remained.
She stuffed the list into her bulletproof lining and walked toward the police rushing in. As they passed each other, she whispered to Jason:
"The storm is only truly arriving now."
Outside the window, sunlight pierced through the dark clouds. Emily narrowed her eyes, feeling the long-absent warmth.
This confrontation was over. But her war would never end.
