Chapter 4 - FORTY-TWO SECONDS BEFORE THE EXPLOSION
Avery refused to send the entire environmental log electronically.
Good.
That made me trust her slightly more.
“Why?”
I asked.
“Because someone is watching document access.”
“From inside HartVale?”
“I think so.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Cassandra?”
“Maybe.”
“Julian?”
“Maybe.”
At least she didn’t pretend certainty.
“Can you read me the critical entries?”
I heard keys.
Then Avery inhaled.
“Forty-two seconds before the explosion, somebody issued a manual ventilation override.”
My body went still.
Lab Three used negative-pressure ventilation.
If dangerous vapor escaped a reactor, the system isolated the room and pulled contaminated air into a filtration unit.
“What override?”
“Exhaust dampers closed.”
My chest tightened.
“That traps vapor inside.”
“Yes.”
“Who authorized it?”
“Your account.”
I closed my eyes beneath the bandages.
“My hardware key was on me.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“You taught me the protocol.”
Of course.
My founder key required a physical token.
Unless somebody had cloned the device months earlier.
Or changed the environmental system to accept a counterfeit.
“What happened next?”
“Thirty-one seconds before the explosion, hydrogen feed increased.”
Aurum’s synthesis reactor used small amounts during a catalyst step.
Never at that level.
“How much?”
“Two hundred eighty percent.”
“Automatic alarm?”
“Suppressed.”
“By who?”
Another pause.
“JH-01.”
Julian.
My stomach tightened.
“He suppressed the alarm.”
“The log says his credential did.”
Evidence first.
Avery continued.
“Eighteen seconds before the explosion, the reactor door interlock was released.”
“That should be impossible under high hydrogen.”
“Yes.”
“Credential?”
She whispered:
“CV-02.”
Cassandra Vale.
Three actions.
My account closed ventilation.
Julian suppressed alarms.
Cassandra released the interlock.
On paper, all three founders had participated.
Except I hadn’t.
That looked less like simple sabotage and more like a structure designed to distribute blame.
“Who entered the room?”
“You did.”
“Yes.”
“You were alone on interior badge logs.”
“Why did I go in?”
Silence.
“Elena, I found something in the notification archive.”
“What?”
“A message sent to you at 11:47 p.m.”
I remembered the alert.
Or thought I did.
That night still existed in fragments because of the injury and sedation afterward.
“What did it say?”
Avery read:
Batch 7 stability failure. Immediate founder review required. — Julian
My stomach tightened.
Julian had summoned me.
“Did he send it?”
“The message originated from his executive account.”
Again, evidence.
Not proof of the person holding the device.
“Where was Julian?”
“Building access says he left at ten thirty.”
“And Cassandra?”
“Nine fifty-two.”
“So both supposedly left.”
“Yes.”
“Did they return?”
“Not through standard entrances.”
The phrase mattered.
“Other entrances?”
“Loading dock.”
“Garage.”
“Service stairwell.”
Avery hesitated.
“There’s also the executive tunnel from the adjacent pilot facility.”
I knew.
HartVale leased two connected buildings.
The tunnel required executive access.
“Check it.”
“I did.”
My pulse increased.
“And?”
“The camera was offline.”
“Badge log?”
“Maintenance mode.”
“When?”
“Ten forty-seven to twelve twenty.”
Perfect window.
“Who scheduled maintenance?”
Avery went quiet.
“Graham—”
No, wrong story. Need new character. Let's pick "Miles Trent", facilities director? Need not duplicate. Avery can say "Operations." Better.
“Operations office.”
“Julian’s division.”
“Yes.”
I sat slowly.
The explosion no longer looked like a reckless experiment.
It looked staged.
But staged for what?
If Cassandra truly wanted me dead, why create a credential trail implicating herself and Julian?
Unless they believed the evidence would burn.
Or unless someone else wanted all three of us implicated.
“Avery, did the environmental terminal survive physically?”
“Yes.”
“Why did the damage report say it didn’t?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is it now?”
Silence.
“Avery?”
“I moved it.”
That surprised me.
“Where?”
“Off-site.”
“Why?”
“Because the morning after the explosion, Cassandra told facilities to destroy it.”
My grip tightened.
“Exact words?”
“She said all contaminated hardware from Lab Three should be disposed of.”
“That could be safety protocol.”
“I thought so too.”
“What changed?”
“She came down personally.”
Cassandra rarely entered equipment storage.
“She pointed at that specific terminal.”
My breathing slowed.
“What did she say?”
Avery’s voice dropped.
“She said, ‘That one never existed.’”
There it was.
Not proof of the explosion.
Proof Cassandra knew the terminal mattered.
“Where did you take it?”
“My apartment.”
I nearly swore.
“Avery, that was dangerous.”
“I know.”
“Does anyone know?”
“No.”
Her voice changed.
“Maybe.”
“What happened?”
“Somebody searched my locker yesterday.”
My hand tightened.
“Anything missing?”
“One notebook.”
“What was in it?”
“Serial numbers.”
Including L3-ENV-04.
“Avery, don’t go home.”
“Too late.”
I stood.
“What?”
“I’m outside my building.”
“Leave.”
Silence.
Then I heard something metallic.
A car door?
“Avery?”
She whispered:
“There’s someone standing beside my apartment entrance.”
“Do you recognize them?”
Pause.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Her voice became almost inaudible.
“Julian.”
My husband had left my suite less than fifteen minutes earlier.
May you like
And now he was outside Avery’s apartment.
📖 Find out why Julian went to Avery’s building after I demanded the Lab Three logs—and what he was carrying when Avery saw him enter in CHAPTER 5. 👇
