Chapter 27 - The Race to Riverside
Within half an hour, three police vehicles and an ambulance were heading toward the abandoned industrial district.
Because Ethan insisted the key might explain everything, Dr. Lewis reluctantly allowed him to accompany the detectives under medical supervision.
"You stay inside the vehicle," she warned.
"No heroics."
Ethan smiled weakly.
"I've had enough excitement for one week."
The convoy entered Riverside just before sunset.
Most warehouses had long since been abandoned.
Broken windows reflected the fading orange sky.
Rust covered old shipping containers.
The storage facility itself looked forgotten.
Only one security guard waited nervously outside.
Detective Harris approached him.
"You made the emergency call?"
"Yes."
The guard nodded repeatedly.
"I heard someone cutting a lock."
"When I came outside..."
"They ran."
"Did you see them?"
"Only two figures."
"They wore dark clothes."
He pointed toward a damaged door.
"They escaped through there."
Crime-scene technicians immediately began working.
The cut lock lay on the ground.
Fresh.
Professional.
"They knew exactly which unit they wanted," Collins muttered.
Harris looked toward Ethan.
"Ready?"
Ethan nodded.
With gloved hands, Harris inserted the brass key into Unit 17-B.
It fit perfectly.
The heavy metal door slowly rolled upward.
Dust floated through the air.
Inside...
There was almost nothing.
One wooden table.
Three cardboard boxes.
A filing cabinet.
And an old wheelchair covered with a white sheet.
No valuables.
No money.
No obvious secrets.
Detective Collins looked disappointed.
"This can't be everything."
Ethan slowly entered despite Dr. Lewis protesting behind him.
His eyes immediately settled on the wheelchair.
He frowned.
"I've seen that."
"Where?" Harris asked.
"In our house."
"When I was little."
He carefully lifted the white sheet.
Underneath sat an ordinary wheelchair.
Except for one detail.
Engraved into the armrest...
Was the exact same symbol that had appeared on Hartwell Biotech's old logo.
The detectives fell silent.
Someone had deliberately hidden it here.
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But why?
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