Chapter 6 - Eleven Minutes to Midnight"We need an injunction," Tessa said over the speakerphone.

"We have eleven minutes," I replied from the passenger seat of Dad's car.

He drove while I called Bellwether's security administrator, a woman named Iris Chen who had once trained me on the fire exits.

"Iris, I'm not asking you to break a rule," I said. "I'm asking you to preserve evidence of a workplace complaint."

"Corporate has already disabled my access," she whispered. "Someone changed the retention window."

Dad glanced at me. "Ask about the local recorder."

Iris hesitated. "There's a physical backup unit. But someone has to be on site to stop the purge."

We reached the market at 11:54. Rain lashed the parking lot. Todd stood by the employee door, holding an umbrella too small for two people.

"Iris called me," he said. "I don't like what's happening."

"Then help fix it," I answered.

Todd unlocked the security office. The monitor showed a red timer, five minutes and twenty seconds. He tried his password. ACCESS DENIED.

"They locked me out," he muttered.

Iris was still on the phone. "Under the desk. Bottom drawer. The recorder's emergency hold switch is behind a plastic guard."

Todd pulled it open. The guard had been secured with a tamper seal. He looked at me.

"Break it," I said. "I'll sign the incident report."

He pressed the hold switch at 11:59:42. The timer froze with eighteen seconds left.

I exhaled for the first time in minutes.

On the screen, Vivian dropped the bills. The footage showed everything, even Todd standing nearby before he pretended the first complaint came from corporate.

"That's enough to clear you," he said softly.

But the next camera angle showed something more. Twenty minutes before Vivian entered my lane, she had met Marcus Vale by the supermarket's back office. Marcus handed her a small white envelope. She opened it, saw my employee photograph, and nodded.

Dad leaned closer. "They planned this."

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I pointed to the timestamp. "And Marcus knew I was working tonight."

Then a third person walked into frame. I recognized the face instantly: Bellwether's chief operating officer, Adrian Pike.