Before I could argue…
The facility lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the hallway.
Emergency lights flickered red.
Then somewhere outside…
A vehicle engine stopped.
Another followed.
Car doors slammed.
More than one.
Ellis quietly pulled her pistol.
“They found us.”
My pulse exploded.
“How?”
She didn’t answer.
Instead she reached into the case, removed another envelope, and shoved it into my hands.
“Your father said this only comes out if we’re compromised.”
I opened it.
One sentence.
Trust no Mercer except your mother.
The blood drained from my face.
Except…
My mother.
That meant…
Victor wasn’t the only Mercer involved.
Footsteps echoed outside the unit.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
Then a familiar voice drifted through the darkness.
“Julian.”
I froze.
It was Uncle Victor.
Warm.
Gentle.
Exactly the voice I’d heard my whole life.
“You don’t understand what’s happening.”
Another step.
“I came to protect you.”
Ellis whispered only two words.
“He’s lying.”
Victor stopped just outside the partially open storage door.
“I know you’re in there.”
Silence.
Then he sighed.
“Your father made a terrible mistake.”
His voice cracked with convincing grief.
“He’s already dead.”
Ellis slowly looked at me.
“No,” she whispered.
“He isn’t.”
And at that exact moment…
A gunshot shattered every light in the storage corridor.
