Chapter 23: The Witness
478 words
Rain lashed against the windshield of Marcus’s sedan, distorting the grim silhouette of the apartment complex. It was a concrete hive for the desperate—people who, like Sarah, had fallen through the cracks of the city.
"Elias Vance," Marcus muttered, checking his dashboard camera. "Former lead lab tech. Julian fired him two days after the toxicity report was buried. If anyone knows where the bodies are buried, it's him."
Sarah wrapped her thrift-store coat tighter around her expanding belly. The damp cold gnawed at her bones. She had three dollars in her pocket and a baby fighting a war against poison inside her.
"He's scared," Sarah whispered, watching the flickering light in apartment 4B. "He’s hiding."
They climbed the graffiti-stained stairs. The hallway reeked of stale smoke and boiled cabbage. Marcus didn't knock; he pounded.
The door cracked open, held by a chain. A bloodshot eye peered out.
"Go away."
"We have the email, Elias," Marcus said, his voice low and jagged like broken glass. "We know Julian ordered the delete. We just need you to confirm the batch numbers."
The door closed, the chain rattled, and then it swung open. Elias Vance looked like a ghost haunting his own life—gaunt, shaking, wearing a stained t-shirt. He ushered them inside, his eyes darting to the window.
"He'll destroy me," Elias hissed. "Julian isn't a man. He's an algorithm. He calculates human collateral like overhead costs."
Sarah stepped into the dim light. She placed a hand on her stomach, forcing Elias to look at the life he had helped endanger.
"My son is the collateral," she said, her voice trembling with a mother's rage. "Look at me, Elias. Look at what his 'overhead cost' looks like."
Elias crumbled. He sank onto a cardboard box, burying his face in his hands. "I kept the physical logs. I couldn't... I couldn't burn them. They're in my safe."
"Testify," Marcus pressed. "Tomorrow. 9 AM."
"Okay," Elias whispered. "I'll bring the logs. Just get me protection."
Victory tasted like copper in Sarah's mouth. They had him. They turned to leave, the adrenaline making Sarah dizzy. They stepped back out into the pouring rain, the heavy steel door of the building clicking shut behind them.
Marcus reached for his car keys. "We nail him tomorrow, Sarah. It's over."
Sarah smiled, the first genuine smile in months.
BOOM.
A concussive wave knocked Sarah sideways into the wet asphalt. The night turned white-hot.
She scrambled up, ears ringing, shielding her stomach instinctively. Five parking spots away, a sedan was engulfed in a roaring fireball. Twisted metal rained down around them.
"That’s Elias’s car," Marcus shouted over the inferno, his face pale.
Sarah stared at the burning wreckage. The car was empty, but the message was loud and clear. Julian wasn't just fighting a lawsuit anymore.
He was hunting.
End of Chapter 23
