Chapter 3 - The Flash Drive
Chaos erupted in the cramped hospital room.
The military police officers drew their weapons and sprinted into the hallway to track down Preston.
Major Hart immediately locked down the wing, securing the perimeter to ensure nobody else could escape.
Vivienne and Vance were backed into a corner, looking genuinely terrified for the first time in their privileged lives.
I didn't care about Preston running, because my only priority was protecting my daughter.
I rushed to Nadia’s bedside, expecting her to be panicking in the dark.
Instead, Nadia sat up completely unassisted, her trembling demeanor entirely gone.
She reached beneath her hospital mattress and pulled out a small, encrypted titanium flash drive.
“He didn't take it, Dad.”
Nadia’s voice was clear, strong, and completely devoid of the weakness she had been feigning all night.
“This is what Preston was actually looking for when the lights went out.”
She handed me the cold metal drive, her eyes shining with fierce determination.
“This contains every single ledger, offshore account, and shell company the Calders used to funnel DoD money.”
Vivienne saw the drive and let out a horrified gasp.
“You ungrateful little wretch!”
Vivienne lunged toward the bed, but I simply stepped in her path, blocking her like a concrete wall.
Major Hart took the drive from my hand and plugged it into her secure military tablet.
The screen lit up with a Calder Defense Logistics logo, followed by a massive red warning banner.
“It's heavily encrypted with biometric security,” Major Hart said, her fingers flying across the digital keyboard.
“It requires a live fingerprint scan from a registered board member to decrypt the files.”
We had the ultimate evidence, but it was locked behind a digital fortress.
I looked at Vivienne, knowing she would rather die than open those files.
Preston was currently fleeing through the hospital corridors, desperate to escape federal custody.
Suddenly, a bruised and bloodied Preston was shoved violently back into the hospital room.
He stumbled and collapsed onto the linoleum floor, groaning in pain.
Standing in the doorway was Grant Calder, breathing heavily and adjusting his expensive cuffs.
Grant walked past his brother on the floor, ignoring Vivienne's frantic screaming.
He calmly approached Major Hart and held out his right hand.
“I am a registered board member of Calder Defense.”
Grant pressed his thumb against the tablet’s scanner, and the screen flashed bright green with the word 'UNLOCKED'.
Vivienne shrieked in absolute horror, realizing her eldest son had just sold out their entire empire.
“Why would you do this, Grant?”
Grant looked at his mother with a chilling, dead-eyed smile.
“Because, Mother, the only way I could finally inherit the throne was to let the FBI clear out the current management.”
Major Hart opened the decrypted ledgers, her eyes scanning the massive list of illegal transactions.
Her face suddenly went completely pale.
She slowly looked up from the tablet, her hand drifting toward her holstered sidearm.
“Colonel Ward,” Major Hart said, her voice shaking with disbelief.
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“These stolen DoD funds weren't wired to the Calders.”
“According to these ledgers, every single cent was transferred into a black-ops military account registered directly under your name.”
