Chapter 9: The Truth Beneath the Building
The abandoned storage facility looked exactly like the kind of place where secrets were buried.
Broken windows.
Rusting doors.
Dust covering old evidence boxes.
Carter entered alone.
At least, that was what he wanted whoever was watching to believe.
Because Sullivan followed from a distance.
Not to disobey.
To protect.
Inside, Daniel stood beside an old filing cabinet.
“You came.””
Carter looked around.
“Where is everyone else?””
Daniel smiled.
“You still think this is about everyone else.””
Carter frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel opened the cabinet.
Inside were hundreds of files.
Old cases.
Complaints.
Evidence.
All hidden.
“They didn’t destroy the evidence.””
Carter looked at the files.
“They buried it.””
Daniel nodded.
“Exactly.””
Sullivan stepped out.
Both men turned.
Carter sighed.
“I told you to stay away.””
Sullivan looked at him.
“You also told me to earn trust.””
A moment passed.
Then Daniel smiled slightly.
“Maybe he’s learning.””
Suddenly, the lights turned on.
A slow clap echoed.
Everyone turned.
Captain Wallace stood at the entrance.
“You always were stubborn, Carter.””
Carter’s face hardened.
“Wallace.””
Wallace walked inside.
“You should have taken the warning.””
“You should have taken responsibility.””
Wallace laughed.
“You still believe this is about justice.””
He looked at Sullivan.
“Ask him what happened after Daniel disappeared.””
Sullivan looked confused.
“What?””
Wallace smiled.
“Ask your commander.””
Carter’s expression changed.
Daniel looked at him.
“What is he talking about?””
For the first time, Carter hesitated.
Wallace noticed.
“There it is.””
Sullivan stared.
“Commander?””
Carter took a breath.
“I knew Daniel’s case.””
Everyone froze.
Daniel’s expression changed.
“What?””
Carter looked at him.
“Before I became commander, I was part of the investigation.””
The betrayal in Daniel’s eyes was immediate.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you did nothing?””
Carter looked away.
“I tried.””
Wallace laughed.
“He tried.””
The sarcasm was obvious.
“He filed reports. He complained. He followed procedure.””
Wallace stepped closer.
“And then he realized procedure protected the wrong people.””
Sullivan looked between them.
“What happened?””
Carter answered quietly.
“I was forced off the investigation.””
Daniel looked hurt.
“You let them erase me.””
“No.””
Carter’s voice cracked slightly.
“I spent three years trying to find you.””
A silence followed.
Then Wallace reached into his coat.
A gun.
Everyone froze.
“You should have stopped digging.””
Sullivan stepped forward.
“Wallace.””
The captain smiled.
“Don’t pretend you’re different.””
A siren sounded outside.
Wallace looked surprised.
Then angry.
Carter had already called backup.
Wallace turned toward the door.
But it was too late.
Officers surrounded the building.
Wallace dropped the weapon.
But before he was taken away, he smiled.
“You think you won?””
Carter stared.
Wallace leaned closer.
“You still haven’t found the person who signed my orders.””
Carter froze.
“What?””
Wallace smiled.
“The person who started all of this.””
As Wallace was taken away, Carter found a final file hidden beneath the cabinet.
Inside was one page.
One signature.
The name was clear.
Not Wallace.
Not Kane.
Not Reynolds.
Someone else.
Someone who had been above everyone.
Someone who had controlled Precinct 54 for years.
Carter read the name.
May you like
And for the first time, he looked afraid.
Because the person responsible was someone he trusted.
