18:41.

“So I created my own death.”

Julian felt dizzy.

The empty coffin.

The funeral.

The warning.

Everything suddenly fit together.

“You buried an empty coffin,” Julian whispered.

On screen, Raymond nodded.

“As soon as you’re seeing this, people are already looking for you.”

The FBI agent immediately stood.

“What people?”

Raymond answered as if he’d heard her.

“The organization believes Julian inherited the evidence.”

The room suddenly fell silent.

Then every computer monitor switched on simultaneously.

One after another.

One after another.

One after another.

Dozens of security camera feeds appeared.

Outside the storage facility.

Inside the parking lot.

Near the entrance gate.

On nearby roads.

The FBI agent’s face turned pale.

“We’ve got company.”

Several black SUVs had entered the facility.

Julian counted six.

Maybe seven.

Men exited the vehicles.

All wearing dark clothing.

All moving with military precision.

One looked directly into a camera.

Then smiled.

The FBI agent reached for her radio.

Dead.

No signal.

The monitors flickered again.

Raymond appeared once more.

“If you’re seeing the vehicles, they found you faster than expected.”

Julian’s heart pounded.

“Dad, what do we do?”

The recording answered.

“Inside the safe beneath Desk Three is another key.”

Julian rushed to the desk.

He found a hidden compartment.

Inside was a silver key.

And a photograph.

The photograph made him freeze.

It showed his wife, Celeste.

Standing beside one of the men from the SUVs.

Julian stared in disbelief.

“No…”

The FBI agent grabbed the photo.

Her eyes widened.

“When was this taken?”

The timestamp was from three weeks ago.

Julian felt the room spinning.

His wife had never mentioned any of this.

Then his phone rang.

Celeste.

His wife.

He answered immediately.

“Celeste?”

Her voice sounded shaky.

“Julian… don’t trust anyone.”

“What?”

“They know where you are.”

“Who?”

Before she could answer, another voice appeared.

A male voice.

Calm.

Dangerous.

“Mr. Mercer.”

Julian’s blood turned cold.

The man laughed softly.

“Your father caused us a lot of trouble.”

The call disconnected.

At that exact moment, every light inside Unit 17 went dark.

The countdown timer reached zero.

00:00.

A hidden steel door slowly opened in the back wall.

And from the darkness beyond, a voice spoke.

A voice Julian recognized instantly.

His father’s voice.

“Julian… if you’re hearing me, run.”