Chapter 14 - The Cloud Backup
The rain began drumming against the metal roof of the storage bay as Arthur dialed his legal team.
"Julian Mercer is heading to the executive airfield in Addison," Arthur commanded into the phone. "File an emergency writ of replevin with the federal magistrate. We have active destruction of state vital records."
"They won't get far with the paper files," I said, stepping past the scattered photo albums.
Arthur lowered the phone, his brow furrowing. "Nora, the safe was cleaned out. What else did Miriam leave you?"
"My mother was an archivist for thirty years, Arthur," I replied, pulling my key ring from my pocket. Attached to the silver band was a tiny, flat piece of brushed aluminum—an encrypted microSD card disguised as a decorative pendant. "She knew what Judith Caldwell was capable of. She never kept the only copy in a physical lockbox."
"Where is the mirror file?"
"In the Texas State Archives digital repository," I said. "Cataloged under a public historical land grant number that nobody has searched in four decades. But it requires two authorized biometric keys to decrypt."
"Miriam's signature," Arthur guessed.
"And her direct lineal issue," I said, looking down at my own hands. "Me. Or Ryan."
Arthur looked at me, his gaze softening with profound sorrow.
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"Ryan is currently sitting in a holding cell at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center," Arthur murmured. "Judith's bail attorney hasn't posted his bond. They left him behind as the scapegoat."
"Then we make him an offer," I said, walking out into the damp Texas night. "He can rot in federal prison for conspiracy to poison his own child, or he can sign the authorization that dismantles the woman who bought him."
