Chater 33: The truth begins to surface
899 Words
Sinclair Cyber Security - Late Night
Adrian sat frozen.
His phone still resting in his hand.
The call had ended.
But the voice...
It echoed inside his mind.
"You're digging."
"I like that."
The killer knew.
He knew someone was investigating.
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
His jaw tightened.
He had confirmed something important.
The killer had direct access to digital systems.
And worse -
He was monitoring internal activity.
Footsteps approached behind him.
Slow.
Confident.
"Who called?"
Damien's voice.
Adrian didn't turn immediately.
He exhaled quietly.
"Wrong number."
Damien stepped closer.
"You look like it wasn't."
Adrian finally turned.
Their eyes locked.
Damien studied his face carefully.
"Security flagged unusual encrypted traffic coming from your workstation."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Because I was tracing system logs."
Damien folded his arms.
"Tracing what."
Adrian hesitated for half a second.
Then answered honestly.
"The person who manipulated hospital birth records."
Silence filled the room.
Damien's expression hardened instantly.
"Explain."
Adrian turned the monitor around.
He pointed at the recovered data.
"Twenty-five years ago."
"Someone accessed medical databases and edited birth registrations."
He highlighted the contractor username.
"Access routed through a system linked to your infrastructure."
Damien's eyes narrowed.
"Are you accusing my company?"
"No."
Adrian replied calmly.
"I'm saying someone inside your network helped erase identities."
Damien stepped closer to the screen.
He scanned the data carefully.
His expression slowly shifted from irritation to seriousness.
"This access level..."
He whispered.
"Only high-tier administrators could perform it."
Adrian nodded.
"Exactly."
Damien turned sharply toward Min-Jae, who had just entered the room.
"Pull internal access logs from twenty-five years ago."
Min-Jae hesitated.
"Sir... those archives were partially deleted during system upgrades."
Damien's jaw clenched.
"Recover them."
Min-Jae nodded quickly and left.
Damien turned back to Adrian.
"Why does this matter to you personally?"
Adrian's silence stretched for a moment.
Then quietly:
"Because my parents ran."
Damien frowned slightly.
Adrian continued.
"They changed names."
"Changed countries."
"They moved to protect me."
His voice lowered.
"From someone who was hunting."
Damien listened carefully now.
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"And the way this killer operates..."
"He r***s victims."
"He sews their lips shut."
His fists clenched slightly.
"That's exactly how my mother died."
Damien's expression shifted.
Shock.
Then realization.
Adrian continued softly.
"She was attacked."
"Silenced."
"Killed in the same method."
He swallowed.
"And my father told me before he died that someone was tracking them."
"He said they were being followed."
Damien stared at him carefully.
"So you believe..."
Adrian met his gaze.
"That the killer we're chasing now..."
"May be the same man who murdered my parents."
The room fell silent.
Heavy.
Damien processed the information slowly.
"If that's true..."
He whispered.
"Then this isn't random killing."
"It's personal."
Minutes Later - Data Recovery
Min-Jae rushed back into the room.
"Sir! We recovered fragments."
Damien turned immediately.
"What did you find?"
Min-Jae placed a tablet on the desk.
On the screen -
Old system logs.
Encrypted access records.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Not a full identity.
But a trace.
A contractor who worked on database infrastructure during that time.
Affiliated with international data security projects.
Adrian leaned closer.
His heart beating faster.
"That name..."
Damien looked at him.
"What."
Adrian whispered slowly.
"That contractor was working in the first country my parents lived in."
Damien froze.
"Which country?"
Adrian answered quietly
"Boston"
Silence.
He had never told anyone this. About his birth parents or his birth country.
He continued.
"My mother gave birth to me at St. Joseph Hospital there."
Damien stared at him.
"Twenty-five years ago?"
Adrian nodded.
"Same year as the victims."
Damien slowly looked back at the access logs.
The contractor linked to system edits.
Was operating in multiple countries.
Including Boston.
Including Korea.
Including database migration projects.
His expression darkened.
"If this person moved between international systems..."
He muttered.
"Then he had global access."
Adrian's breathing slowed.
"It matches."
Damien looked at him sharply.
"What matches?"
Adrian's eyes were cold now.
"His pattern."
"He targets women born around the same timeframe."
He could be searching for me.
I am a girl afterall.
Born at the sametime as those girls.
Was that the reason why my parents were always on the run.
"He tracks birth records."
"He erases identities."
His voice dropped.
"He's cleaning something."
Damien studied Adrian carefully.
"You think your birth is part of his target?"
Adrian's jaw tightened.
If thats the case,then I should let him find me.
He wanted to say that its possible but he knew that that would raise suspisions so he rather he should take a different option.
"No."
"Not my birth."
His eyes sharpened.
"My survival."
A chilling realization settled between them.
The killer wasn't hunting randomly.
He was eliminating records.
Removing witnesses.
Erasing evidence tied to a specific event twenty-five years ago.
And that event...
Was connected to Adrian's birth.
Somewhere Else
The killer watched the system breach alerts flashing on his screen.
Someone had accessed old archives.
Someone had traced contractor records.
He leaned back slowly.
"Too close."
His fingers tapped the desk.
Then he smiled.
"They're connecting dots."
He wasn't angry.
He was impressed.
Because finally -
The investigation had reached the real layer of secrecy.
He opened another file.
A list of names.
Some crossed out.
Some still active.
He whispered softly:
"She will understand soon."
His gaze shifted to one name not yet crossed out.
Jade Whitmore.
"Soon..."
- Writer
