Chapter 42 - Hannah's Secret
A faint knocking sound echoed from somewhere behind the server wall.
Everyone froze.
Three knocks.
A pause.
Then two more.
Marcus raised his flashlight.
"Did you hear that?"
Officer Ortega nodded.
"It came from behind the servers."
The team searched the wall until Kevin noticed tiny ventilation openings hidden behind one of the equipment racks.
He leaned closer.
"Hannah?"
Silence.
Then a weak voice answered.
"Marcus..."
Rachel rushed forward.
"She's alive!"
The ventilation shaft was too narrow to crawl through, but Kevin inserted a small inspection camera.
The image appeared on his tablet.
A concrete maintenance tunnel stretched beyond the vent.
At the far end sat Hannah Pierce.
Her hands were free now, but a steel security gate blocked her escape.
She looked exhausted.
Marcus spoke through the opening.
"Hannah, can you hear me?"
She nodded weakly.
"They moved me after you entered Evergreen."
"Who?"
"I never saw their faces."
Rachel stepped closer.
"Why did they keep you alive?"
Hannah took a slow breath.
"Because..."
She glanced nervously behind her.
"...I memorized part of Evergreen before they erased my access."
Kevin immediately became interested.
"What did you memorize?"
"A list."
"What kind of list?"
"The original operators."
Marcus exchanged a quick look with Ortega.
"You know their names?"
"Some of them."
Before Hannah could continue, lights inside the maintenance tunnel suddenly turned red.
An automated voice echoed through the corridor.
Containment breach detected.
Hannah looked terrified.
"They know you're here."
Marcus pulled harder on the steel grate.
It didn't move.
"Hannah!"
She hurried toward the inspection camera.
"There isn't much time."
She spoke as quickly as she could.
"Richard Lawson wasn't the founder."
Marcus frowned.
"Then who was?"
"The records all point to one name."
She barely managed to whisper it.
"Elizabeth..."
The emergency shutters slammed shut over the ventilation opening.
The inspection camera lost its signal.
Kevin stared at the black screen.
"We lost her."
Marcus slowly clenched his fists.
"We gained something."
Rachel looked at him.
"What?"
May you like
"The first real name."
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