BURY

UPLOAD

We ran barefoot again. Same as when we were 11 and 9. Mud, files stuck to our feet, papers in our fists.

The Honda was 20 feet away. Pink laptop on the backseat at 1%, car charger hanging.

Vincent got out of his SUV. White robe, no umbrella. He saw us running and he started walking, not running, because men like Vincent never run, they know you'll stop.

Behind us, Mrs. Alvarez's door opened. Damon walked out onto her little porch, gun down at his side, not pointing, just holding.

"Dad," Damon said, loud enough we could hear from the car. "Don't."

Vincent stopped. Looked at his son. First time I saw them face to face since the gates.

"Son, move," Vincent said. On FaceTime still on the floor inside, we could still hear him double, outside voice and phone voice, same words. "Those girls stole from us. They stole $47M that was yours."

"That was never mine," Damon said. "That was Elena's. That was her college fund she left for foster kids. Before you changed it. I found her real will last year. In your office. You told me not to go in the basement and not to go in your office. I should have gone in both."

One bullet. Damon had one bullet and he was talking, buying us seconds.

In the car, Maya slammed the door, laptop open, 1% flashing red, charger in, USBs in, both of them, plus Harrison's recant paper we photographed with Marco's phone because we couldn't scan.

Marco was driving now, front seat, wig gone, red dress ripped to shorts, gunning the engine but not moving, waiting for us to upload, car as WiFi hotspot from his phone.

FBI tip line: `tips.fbi.gov` - Maya typed it with ash fingers, shaking so bad she typed `tups`.

I grabbed her hands. "Together. Like counting."

We always counted together before stealing food.

Maya: "Upload 1 - ME ALIVE."

The `IF UR READING THIS IM NOT DEAD` video. 1 minute 12 seconds. Date stamped 11/14/2024. Proof Maya was alive after declared dead.

Progress bar: 0%... 12%...

Outside, Vincent started walking again toward the car. Damon stepped off the porch, into the rain, between his father and us.

"Dad, if you file at 5:15, I testify. I testify you locked her in my basement. I testify you forged Lena's name. I testify you used Mom's death certificate."

Vincent laughed. Real laugh, not priest laugh.

"You think they believe a boy who held a gun to his father? You have one bullet, Damon. I counted. You shot the tree camera. One."

Upload 1: 78%... 94%...

Maya: "Upload 2 - V + H."

Second USB. I clicked it open before upload, we had to see.

Video, dark, notary office, 11:14 PM, Harrison at his desk, Vincent laying cash, $5k, and the $47M paper with my forged signature already on it.

Vincent's voice on video: _"Stamp it, Harrison, she's 22, studying abroad, she said yes on phone, just stamp it, no thumbprint needed, she's sick -"_

Harrison: _"This is illegal, Vincent -"_

Vincent: _"Everything about foster kids is illegal until you make it legal with a stamp. Stamp it."_

Stamp. Gold seal #88471. 11:14 PM.

Proof. Not just recant. Video of bribe.

Upload 2 started: 0%... 34%...

4:58 AM. 17 minutes.

Outside, Vincent was now 10 feet from the Honda. Damon was 5 feet from Vincent, gun up now.

Vincent: "Last chance, son."

Damon: "My name is not son. It's Damon Valentino and my mother Elena left that money for girls like them, not for you."

Vincent reached into his robe.

Not a gun. His phone.

He pressed SEND.

5:00 AM. 15 minutes early. He filed early. He didn't wait for 5:15 AM. He filed at 5:00 AM while we were uploading.

My phone buzzed. All our phones buzzed. FBI alert? No.

Court notification, auto-generated: _TRUST TRANSFER CASE #CV-88471 - LENA CRUZ - FILED 05:00 AM EST - CLERK OFFICE - HOLD FOR REVIEW - FRAUD FLAG TRIGGERED -_

He filed early to beat our upload.

But our upload 1 finished at 5:00 AM exactly. 100%. Upload 2 at 89%...

Maya hit POST PUBLIC too. She didn't wait for my vote. She opened t****k, i********:, g*******l draft, all of it, and dragged the V+H video there with caption: _"My foster father faked my death and forged my sister's name for $47M. This is video of notary at 11:14 PM. My sister is alive. Please help. - Maya + Lena Cruz"_

0 views. 1 view. 10 views. Rain hitting the car roof.

Vincent stared at his phone, saw the filing go through, smiled, then saw Maya's t****k notification because he follows her dead account, saw her face LIVE, alive, uploading.

His smile broke.

For the first time since I was 9 and he told me Maya died, his face did something not priest, not father, not businessman.

It looked scared.

Because dead girls can't post.