Chapter 8 - The Net Tightens
For three days, Mara Whitlow remained locked in her office, analyzing the encrypted data on the flash drive alongside the handwritten logs. Outside, the tension in Willow Ridge was reaching a boiling point. The black SUV Evelyn had seen on the ridge was now spotted parked near the town square, its tinted windows masking the men inside. Owen Mercer wasn't just searching the woods anymore; he was buying local surveillance.
"They know he’s in the area," Evelyn whispered as she stood near the window of Mara’s office, watching the street below. "They’re closing the circle."
"Let them try," Mara said without looking up from her monitor. "I’ve verified the cryptographic signatures on these emails. Daniel, you were telling the truth. Mercer didn't just alter the safety logs—he actively installed a back-door routine into the flight code that caused the prototype drone crash in November. He blamed you for his own intentional sabotage."
"Can we take this to a judge?" Daniel asked, his voice raw.
"Not a local judge," Mara said, standing up. "Mercer has too many friends in the county court. We need a Federal District Judge with a clean record. And I know one in Portland. But to get the evidence admitted, Daniel, you have to do something insane."
Daniel looked at her. "Name it."
"You have to surrender yourself publicly," Mara declared. "In front of press cameras, on the steps of the federal courthouse. If you surrender quietly in a back room, Mercer's people will make sure you suffer an 'accident' in a holding cell before the trial ever starts. You need the whole country watching when you hand over this drive."
Evelyn felt her throat tighten. "Surrender? That means he goes to jail!"
"It means he goes into federal protective custody," Mara corrected. "It’s the only place Mercer’s hitmen can't easily reach him."
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Daniel looked at Evelyn. He saw the sheer panic in her eyes—the terror of losing another man to a corrupt system. He reached out and gently rested his thumb against her cheek.
"I have to do this, Evelyn," he whispered. "I can't spend the rest of my life hiding in your cabin while you protect me. I need to clear my name so I can offer you something real."
