Trapped inside an abandoned Cold War military asylum by my son-in-law while tens of thousands watch live
👉 Previous decision: You chose to trigger an immediate facility emergency shutdown, preserving the records while letting Derek escape physically.
Arthur stared at the master report, his own unwitting culpability burning into his mind. He couldn’t let this truth be lost, but he couldn’t stomach exposing his lifelong mistake either.
He hit the emergency shutdown switch, sealing the vault digitally, locking the records away from public view for the moment. The power to the facility flickered, then stabilized.
Outside, in the courtyard, Derek’s pager vibrated. He glanced at it, then again, his hand gripping the small device. The screen showed a single, devastating message: his shell corporation’s credit lines, cancelled.
His corporate dreams, the entire scheme, had collapsed. Not with a bang, but a whimper.
Lyle Bramwell, who was still trying to cut the main power lines, saw Derek’s face. He glanced at the now-silent transmission tower, then back at Derek.
Derek slowly lowered his pager. His keys slipped from his numb fingers, clattering onto the concrete. He turned, his gaze meeting the reinforced glass of the control hub, meeting Arthur’s eyes across the distance.
There was no rage, no defiance left in him. Just a profound, quiet defeat. He simply dropped his hands, turned, and began to walk away from the van, away from the facility, leaving everything behind.
The distant wail of sirens grew louder. Arthur watched him go, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Derek was escaping physical capture, but his financial empire, built on sand, had crumbled silently.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 19 to continue the story
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