Chapter 12: Parking Garage Ambush Trap

👉 [Previous Decision]: You chose Option B – Corner Julian in the executive parking garage to demand a formal confession in exchange for silence.

The anger, the sense of betrayal, simmered within me. Julian’s smear campaign had lit a fuse. I couldn’t just hand the evidence over. I wanted to see his face. I wanted to hear him confess.

“I’m going to the executive garage,” I told Maya, grabbing my backpack with the hard drive. “He parks on Sub-level 1. He usually leaves around 6:30 PM.”

Maya’s face was pale. “Evan, please, this is a terrible idea. He’s dangerous.”

“He’s a coward,” I countered, already halfway out the door. “He won’t risk this getting out. Not if I give him an ultimatum.”

I drove to LuminaTech, parking three blocks away. I waited, concealed by a row of parked sedans, until 6:25 PM. The executive garage entrance yawned open, a dark maw.

At 6:32 PM, Julian’s sleek, black electric car glided past. I activated my executive keycard, slipping in behind him before the automated gate closed.

The garage was mostly empty, the air thick with the smell of exhaust and concrete. Julian was alone, heading towards his car.

“Julian!” I called out, my voice echoing in the cavernous space.

He spun around, his eyes narrowing when he saw me. “Evan. What are you doing here?”

I walked towards him, pulling the external hard drive from my backpack. “I know everything. Sub-level 3. The DNA profiles. The memory erasure.”

Julian’s face went white. “You’re delusional, Evan. That’s corporate property. You’re committing a federal crime.”

“This hard drive contains all the evidence,” I said, holding it up. “Signed consent forms don’t exist, do they? Not for human experimentation.”

“You want to talk about this, Julian,” I pressed, stepping closer, “or do you want this to go to the FBI?”

A flicker of fear crossed his face, quickly replaced by a cold, hard glint. “You always were so naive, Evan.”

He reached into his pocket, pressing a button on a small remote.

Before I could react, two burly figures in dark suits emerged from behind Julian’s car. They moved with a practiced efficiency. Julian’s private security.

“Get him,” Julian ordered, his voice suddenly sharp. “And destroy that drive.”

I tried to run, but they were too fast. One tackled me to the ground, slamming my head against the concrete. The hard drive flew from my grasp, skittering across the floor.

The other guard stomped on it, once, twice. A sickening crack. The small device splintered into pieces.

Pain exploded in my head. My vision swam.

“A permanent solution, Evan,” Julian said, looking down at me, his face impassive. “For your own good.”

Darkness enveloped me, deeper than any memory blank.