Chapter 43
The basement remained in absolute darkness for an agonizing ten seconds before the emergency backup generators kicked in, bathing the room in a dull, pulsing red light. Ethan immediately brought up the localized diagnostics on a secure, offline terminal to assess the damage.
"The connection is dead," Ethan breathed a heavy sigh of relief, wiping a thin layer of sweat from his forehead. "The external network is physically severed. The whistleblower registry is safe. But Dad, that wasn't a standard brute-force attack. They bypassed our first three layers of biometric encryption in less than sixty seconds. That requires government-level processing power."
Before Nathan could respond, the heavy steel door of the basement opened. Michael hurried down the stairs, looking alarmed, with Emily close behind him. "What the hell is going on?" Michael demanded, noticing the emergency lighting. "The perimeter alarms just triggered a silent lockdown."
"We were just hit by a massive cyber attack," Claire explained quickly, pulling Emily into a reassuring hug. "Someone is trying to access the victim registry."
Nathan pulled out his cell phone and dialed Sarah Collins on her personal number. She answered on the first ring. "Sarah, we severed the hardline. The files are secure. What is happening? You told me Vance's network was completely dismantled."
"It was," Sarah’s voice crackled over the line, background sirens wailing in the distance. "But we found something in Vance's prison cell this morning. Or rather, we found Vance."
"What do you mean you found him?" Nathan asked, a deep sense of dread settling heavily in his stomach.
"Arthur Vance is dead, Nathan," Sarah stated bluntly. "He was found hanging in his maximum-security cell at 4:00 AM. But it wasn't a suicide. Someone forced him to swallow a micro-USB drive before they killed him. The drive contained a dead-man's switch program. When his heart stopped, the program pinged an offshore server, which instantly launched the attack on your foundation."
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Nathan stared at his family in absolute shock. "Why? Why would he target the registry from beyond the grave?"
"Because Vance was protecting someone higher up the chain," Sarah said grimly. "Someone who wants those witnesses silenced permanently."
