Metal screamed. Glass broke. The image went dark. The official report claimed Peter was not inside the vehicle. Yet the recording proved he had been driving.
Peter touched the scar beside his hairline. I woke below the road. Simone was still inside. Someone pulled me out before emergency crews arrived. Who?
Officer Mercer asked. I never saw the face. The memory card contained one final frame after the crash. A person stood beside the damaged vehicle wearing an airport police uniform. The face remained outside the image, but a hand reached toward the camera.
On its wrist was the same cracked black watch Officer Hayes wore. Mercer looked at her. Hayes did not step back. I reached the crash before the ambulance. Simone called me 30 seconds before impact.
Why were you erased from the report? My supervisor ordered it. Did you remove Peter? Yes, he was alive and someone was returning to finish the job. Did you leave Simone in the vehicle?
Zuri asked. Pain crossed Hayes's face. She had no pulse. Nia turned away. The answer hurt, but it did not prove Hayes caused the crash.
The airport police brought Valerie Cain onto the secured video connection. When shown the records, she offered full cooperation. Celeste paid me to activate the twins false guardian profile. Valerie said. She said the cases contained the only copies.
Celeste demanded a lawyer. Valerie named the masked man who escaped the jet bridge. Deputy Chief Alan Rusk, Mara Hayes's former supervisor. Rusk had approved the false guardian credentials, buried Simone's complaint, and ordered Hayes out of the crash report. Kansas City police issued an airportwide alert.
Minutes later, officers located Rusk inside a restricted control room. He surrendered without resistance. Celeste closed her eyes. The records were secured. The impostor was captured.
The twins remained together. For the first time, it appeared the trap had failed completely. Then, Zuri's anonymous channel sent another message. Rusk is not 417. He wanted you to open both cases. check the live camera before the police move them.
Officer Hayes turned toward the baggage card outside. Both black cases were gone. In their place sat two empty shells, and the officer who had been guarding Simone's original evidence lay unconscious beneath the jet bridge. Officer Mercer reached the jet bridge first. The unconscious guard was breathing, but a red mark covered the side of his neck.
His body camera had been removed. The empty case shells rested beside him. Simone's files, notebook, and damaged camera were gone. Officer Hayes ordered every airport exit sealed. No ground vehicle leaves this terminal.
Search the jet bridge, service stairs, and baggage lanes. The ground supervisor hesitated. Deputy Chief Rusk already ordered the South Service Road opened for emergency traffic. Rusk is under arrest. The order came through his account 30 seconds ago.
Peter looked through the aircraft window. They captured his body, not his access. Rusk's copied identity could continue issuing commands from anywhere inside the airport. Zuri checked case 417. No new message appeared.