Chapter 7 - Betrayal from Within
We scrambled back to Marcus’s truck, the adrenaline pumping violently through our veins. We drove back to the cabin at breakneck speeds, knowing that Vance would now deploy every asset he had to eliminate us.
Marcus plugged the USB drive into his encrypted, air-gapped laptop. As the files loaded, hundreds of documents, spreadsheets, and horrific medical photographs populated the screen.
"This is enough to put the entire board of Vanguard away for multiple life sentences," Marcus muttered, his eyes wide as he scrolled through the data. "But we have a massive problem. Look at the digital signatures authorizing the funding for these illegal trials."
Tessa leaned over his shoulder, gasping as she read the names. "No... that can't be."
I looked at the screen. Prominently displayed on the authorization sheets was the digital stamp of Senator Thomas Sterling—the very politician who had delivered a moving eulogy at Tessa’s funeral, a man who had been a close family friend of Tessa’s parents for decades.
"Sterling didn't just know about it," Tessa whispered, horror shaking her voice. "He was funding it using state grants disguised as public health initiatives. He used Vanguard as his personal piggy bank for his upcoming presidential campaign."
Suddenly, the cabin’s power cut out, plunging us into pitch darkness.
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Outside, the distant, thumping sound of helicopter blades began to vibrate through the walls.
"They didn't just send Vance this time," Marcus said calmly, grabbing his tactical vest. "Sterling has deployed a rogue black-ops military unit. We're trapped."
