Chapter 34 : The circle that tightens
852 Words
Underground Facility
The woman who had loosened her stitches had not given up.
She moved quietly.
Carefully.
Waiting for the moment the guard left his position.
The killer had changed his routine after realizing one prisoner had broken free from her restraints.
But habits were hard to change.
And tonight-
He left the corridor briefly to check system alerts upstairs.
That was her window.
She whispered to the other women:
"Now."
The prisoners moved.
Slow.
Trembling.
They slipped toward the far end of the cell block where a maintenance panel had loosened over time.
She had studied it.
Observed it.
Noticed the weak structure.
Using broken metal from a collapsed shelf, she pried the panel open.
Air flowed from a hidden tunnel behind it.
Her eyes widened.
An escape route.
The women looked at her with hope burning in their eyes.
She motioned for them to crawl inside.
One by one.
They began moving.
Freedom felt close.
Too close.
But as the last woman entered-
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The woman froze.
She turned.
And there he stood.
Mask on.
Watching.
He had returned sooner than expected.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Leaving?"
His voice carried disappointment.
Not anger.
Not panic.
Just cold realization.
He stepped forward calmly.
The prisoners inside the tunnel began trembling.
The woman who led the escape stood between him and the others.
Protective.
Defiant.
The other women shouted through their lip stitches-
"Mmph-!"
The words were unclear.
But their intention were obvious.
Stop.
He laughed softly.
"You were smart."
"But not smarter than me."
He reached forward.
Grabbing the arm of the girl who had broken free from his chambers and was trying to help the girls escape.
She struggled violently.
Fighting with everything left in her body.
She kicked.
She scratched.
She tried to pull free.
But he was stronger.
He dragged her away from the tunnel.
Away from freedom.
The other women inside the tunnel watched in horror as the entrance slowly closed.
Their leader was pulled back into the room.
She fought until her strength collapsed.
Then-
Silence.
The sound that followed was not shown.
Not described.
But when the killer stepped away minutes later-
She did not move again.
The women inside the tunnel covered their mouths to suppress their screams. As if their screams could have been heard through sewed lips.
The escape had failed.
And hope died with her.
Above Ground - Killer's Control Room
The killer removed his mask slowly.
His expression wasn't angry.
It was thoughtful.
He sat down in front of his monitors.
Security footage from Sinclair Media appeared on multiple screens.
He had expanded his surveillance.
Now he monitored:
• Internal employee movements
• Cybersecurity access logs
• Database searches
• Birth record investigations
And then-
An alert flashed.
Unauthorized access.
Someone had traced the contractor linked to the old hospital system.
He leaned closer.
His eyes scanned the digital trail.
The investigation path led directly to:
Sinclair Cyber Security.
Specifically -
A workstation.
User login:
Adrian Knox.
The killer paused.
He zoomed in.
Adrian had accessed the old records.
He had traced system edits.
He had found the contractor.
The killer's lips curled slightly.
"So..."
He whispered.
"She's working inside."
Jade Whitmore.
His fingers tapped slowly against the desk.
But something important followed.
The data didn't reveal identity.
Not fully.
The trail only showed that someone inside the company was investigating the erased birth records.
The killer tilted his head.
"Adrian..."
He murmured.
"...is protecting her."
But he did NOT conclude:
Adrian is Jade.
He only concluded:
The girl I'm searching for is connected to that boy.
And she is hiding inside Sinclair.
His eyes darkened slowly.
"That explains why I keep circling this company."
He leaned back.
"Then I'll force her out."
His strategy shifted.
Instead of searching globally...
He would hunt locally.
He would eliminate every woman around Adrian.
One of them could be Jade.
Until she reacts.
Until she revealed herself.
He smiled behind the mask.
"Let's see how long you can hide Jade Whitmore."
Sinclair Cyber Security - Same Day
Damien stood beside Adrian in the data room.
They were reviewing the same access logs.
Damien pointed at the contractor name.
"This person no longer works in any official capacity."
Adrian frowned.
"Deleted?"
"Strategically erased," Damien replied.
"Almost like someone covered their tracks after the job was done."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"He's still alive."
Damien looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because the digital footprint shows maintenance updates as recent as five years ago."
Damien's eyes sharpened.
"So someone is using his identity."
Adrian nodded slowly.
"Or controlling access through him."
Damien crossed his arms.
"Meaning?"
Adrian looked at him directly.
"Meaning the killer isn't working alone."
Silence fell between them.
Then Damien asked quietly:
"Are you sure this investigation isn't personal for you?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
After a moment, he said calmly:
"It became personal when he killed another woman."
Damien studied him carefully.
For the first time-
His suspicion toward Adrian weakened slightly.
Because the anger in Adrian's voice felt genuine.
Not guilty.
Not defensive.
But protective
- Writer
