The Holloway administrative wing was dark, lit only by green exit signs and the dull glow of a few security monitors. Matt's badge beeped softly as she slipped through the door marked RECORDS AUTHORIZED ONLY.
Her heart hammered in her ears. She'd waited until nearly midnight, telling the night staff she was double-checking some treatment logs. No one questioned her who would suspect the Chief's daughter of anything but loyalty?
She hesitated at the heavy filing cabinet at the back of the locked room the one she'd seen her father use only once before, when he thought she wasn't watching.
In her pocket, her phone buzzed once: "Everything okay?"
Kevin. Always Kevin.
She typed back with trembling fingers: "Almost done. Love you."
No reply but she could imagine his voice anyway: Hurry. You're almost free.
The lock snapped open with the master key she'd stolen from Richard's office weeks ago. Inside: a neat stack of old ledgers, sealed folders stamped CONFIDENTIAL, and one slim USB drive. Matt's fingers hovered over it this was the thing. The final nail. It would show the hidden accounts offshore, the bribes disguised as consulting fees, the hush money funneled to board members to look the other way.
She grabbed it, slipped it into her bag, then froze.
A voice behind her deep, sharp, venomous.
"Matilda."
She spun around. Richard Holloway stood in the doorway, tie loosened, eyes red and furious. For a split second, she saw the man she'd called Dad her whole life then she saw the monster Kevin had promised to destroy.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, voice low and deadly calm.
Her mind raced. Lie. Lie. Lie.
"I—I needed patient files. For an audit"
Richard stepped closer, closing the door behind him. The latch clicked shut, trapping her in the tiny room.
"You're lying to me." He leaned forward, so close she could smell the whiskey on his breath. "Who is he, Matilda? Who turned you against your own blood?"
Matt's pulse slammed in her throat. She thought about Kevin about his promises, his kisses, the heat of his mouth on her skin.
She thought about Emily, too a girl she'd barely known, now a ghost behind every choice she made.
"I'm doing what's right," she said, voice breaking.
Richard's eyes narrowed. For a heartbeat, she thought he might hit her but instead, he leaned back, cold contempt dripping from every word. "You've always been weak. Soft. Easy to twist. You think this boy cares about you? He's using you, Matilda. And when he's done, he'll leave you in the gutter."
Matt's breath caught because a tiny piece of her, buried under her hope, feared he might be right.
But she forced it down. Kevin loves me, she told herself. This is for us.
"I'm done being part of your lies," she spat.
She shoved past him, slipping out before his hand could catch her wrist. She didn't stop until she hit the stairwell then she ran. Down two flights, through the side exit, across the lot to where Kevin was waiting in his battered car.
He saw her coming and swung the door open. The moment she was inside, he pulled away, tires screeching on wet pavement.
"You got it?" he demanded, eyes flicking from the road to her bag.
She handed him the USB with shaking hands. "He was there. He knows, Kevin. He knows it's me."
Kevin's jaw clenched as he stuffed the drive in his pocket. He glanced at her how small she looked in the passenger seat, hair damp from sweat, fear shining in her eyes.
Part of him wanted to pull over, tell her she didn't have to do this anymore. That he'd protect her.
But Emily's voice was louder than that softness. No mercy. No forgiveness.
Instead, he reached over, hooked a hand behind Matt's neck, and kissed her hard. She gasped then melted into him like she always did, desperate to believe every lie on his tongue.
"You did good," he murmured against her lips. "You did so good for us."
She smiled, exhausted, tears slipping down her cheek. "As long as we're together, Kevin. That's all I care about."
He didn't answer. He just pressed another kiss to her temple and turned back to the road driving them both deeper into the fire