Nia hugged her sister's arm. We're not touching them. You may have to, Hayes said. If the cases contain Simone's evidence, they can prove who created the false transfers, or they could contain another device, Mercer warned. The bomb response unit began examining them outside.
No explosive material appeared on the first scan. No active transmitter appeared either. Ground officers captured the woman with the crescent-shaped mark near a locked stairwell. Her mask, glasses, and identification were fake. Her fingerprints identified her as Valerie Kaine, a former airline records contractor dismissed two years earlier.
The masked man escaped. Celeste claimed she did not know either of them. Peter looked at Valerie's photograph. She worked on all 11 missing child files. Officer Hayes requested that Valerie be brought to an interview room where the aircraft's camera could record her statement.
Valerie refused to speak until an officer showed her the two recovered cases. Then she laughed. Those do not contain evidence. Peter stepped closer to the monitor. What do they contain?
Valerie looked directly at the twins through the camera. A choice Simone knew her daughters would eventually have to make. The bomb technician reported that both cases were safe to open, but a timer had appeared on each handprint scanner. 10 minutes. Only one case could be opened.
Touching either scanner would permanently erase the other. The label on Zuri's case read, "Proof of who altered the children's records." The label on Nia's read, "Proof of what really happened to Simone Brooks." Nia looked at her sister. One case could clear nine families and expose the people behind the false handoffs. The other could reveal whether their mother's death was truly an accident. The countdown began.
0959 0958 Zuri's unknown sender delivered one final warning. Simone did not create that choice. Whichever case you open will protect the person who killed her. 9 minutes remained. Zuri read the warning again.
Whichever case you open will protect the person who killed her. Nia watched the two timers through the aircraft window. Then we open neither. Peter shook his head. If both timers expire, the cases erase themselves.
That's what Valerie says. The scanners confirm it. No, Zuri replied. The screens confirm it. We already know screens can lie.
Officer Hayes asked the bomb technician to disconnect the case batteries. He refused. Each battery sat behind a pressure sensor. Removing it could trigger immediate deletion. Celeste leaned toward the window.
Choose the records. Nine living families deserve answers more than you deserve details about an accident. Nia turned slowly. Why do you care which one we open? Celeste settled back.
Because I care about the children harmed by the system. You just tried to make us numbers 10 and 11. Officer Mercer moved between Celeste and the twins. Do not advise them again. The countdown reached 8 minutes.
Zuri studied the labels. Both used clear block letters, but the wording felt wrong. Their mother never described evidence as proof. She always called it a record. Proof was what someone claimed a record meant.
Simone taught them that difference after Zuri once blamed Nia for breaking a lamp. The broken glass was a record of what happened, not proof of who caused it. Mom didn't write those labels, Zuri said. Peter agreed. The cases were registered after her death.