Chapter 7 - File 88-B
The basement records room was a labyrinth of towering metal shelving units stacked high with dusty cardboard archive boxes, yellowed case files, and decades of forgotten municipal history.
David flashed the small keychain LED light Hayes had provided him, the narrow beam cutting through the thick, stagnant air, kicking up tiny particles of dust that danced in the glow.
*Aisle four... shelf twelve... box three.*
He moved quickly, his boots darting between the towering racks until he reached the designated aisle. He scanned the spine labels of the archive boxes until his fingers brushed against a weathered cardboard box marked with grease pencil: VANCE TECH - FORENSIC AUDIT 2024.
He ripped the lid off the box, shoving aside dusty folders until his hand hit a heavy, steel-ring binder labeled with bright red tape: FILE 88-B.
He flipped it open. Inside wasn't just a digital printout; it was the original, signed hard-copy forensic accounting ledger detailing the exact date and time Marcus had transferred funds from the corporate escrow account into David’s personal account using a spoofed digital signature.
Attached to the back of the ledger was a signed deposition from the former chief financial officer of Vance Technologies, admitting under oath that Marcus had threatened his family if he didn't cooperate with the frame-up.
It was the smoking gun. The absolute, unassailable proof of innocence.
Suddenly, a harsh, blinding beam of white light flooded the end of the aisle.
"Freeze right where you are! Hands on your head!"
David spun around, shielding his eyes from the glare. Standing at the entrance of aisle four wasn't Officer Hayes.
It was Lieutenant Briggs—the head of internal security, and Marcus’s primary payroll asset inside the facility.
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Briggs rested his hand casually on the holster of his sidearm, a cruel, mocking smirk twisting his lips as he stepped closer. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged out of the cell. Attempting to tamper with secure archive files, Cross? That’s going to add at least ten years to your sentence."
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