One of the prosecutors Harrison had named earlier.
One of the men who had access to the evidence system.
One of the people Sarah had been investigating.
"No..."
Harrison stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Evelyn handed him the document.
His face changed.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas Avery was Daniel's closest friend."
Evelyn stared at him.
"And?"
"He died the year before you were born."
Silence.
Then the hidden speaker crackled.
Sarah's voice returned.
"Now you understand."
Evelyn turned toward the speaker.
"Sarah?"
"You were never supposed to find this."
"Who was Thomas Avery?"
A long silence followed.
Then Sarah whispered:
"The man who started everything."
Evelyn's heart pounded.
"Why?"
"Because he wasn't dead."
The lights suddenly came on.
A man stood at the end of the corridor.
He was old.
Silver-haired.
Wearing a dark suit.
Evelyn stared at him.
She had seen his photograph before.
In the courthouse archives.
In old newspapers.
In the files her father had hidden.
The man smiled.
"Hello, Evelyn."
Harrison stepped backward.
"Thomas..."
Evelyn couldn't speak.
Thomas Avery smiled.
"You've been looking for Sarah."
Evelyn finally found her voice.
"Where is she?"
Avery pointed toward the room behind her.
"Closer than you think."
Evelyn turned.
The room was empty.
Then she heard a lock click.
A hidden door opened behind the bookshelf.
And a woman stepped into the light.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Evelyn's knees nearly gave way.
"Sarah..."
Her sister stared at her.
For twelve years, Evelyn had imagined this moment a thousand different ways.
She had imagined herself screaming.
Crying.
Running forward.
Instead, she could only whisper:
"You're alive."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
Then she looked at Harrison.
Her expression changed.
And she said:
"But we don't have much time."
Behind them, the sound of footsteps began echoing through the underground corridor.
Someone else was coming.
For several seconds, Evelyn couldn't move.
Sarah stood only a few feet away.
Twelve years.
Twelve years of photographs, unanswered questions, sleepless nights, and whispered conversations with people who insisted Sarah was dead.
And now she was standing in front of her.
Older.
Thinner.
A faint scar ran along her left cheek.
But her eyes were the same.
Those were the eyes Evelyn remembered from childhood.
The eyes that used to watch over her whenever their parents argued.
The eyes that had once promised, I'll never leave you.
Evelyn took one trembling step forward.
"Sarah."
Sarah's lips trembled.
"Evelyn."
They embraced.
Evelyn held her sister so tightly that Sarah gasped.
"I'm sorry," Sarah whispered.
Evelyn pulled away.
"Don't."
"I tried to come back."
"Don't say you're sorry."
"I couldn't."
"You were alive."
"I know."
"You were alive all this time."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you find me?"
"I tried."
"When?"
"More times than you know."
Evelyn shook her head.
"Then why didn't you?"
Sarah looked toward Thomas Avery.
"Because he always found me."
Avery stood silently at the end of the corridor.
Harrison stared at him.
"You were supposed to be dead."
Avery smiled.
"That's what everyone believed."
"Your death certificate—"
"Was arranged."
Harrison's expression darkened.
"How many people knew?"
"Enough."
Evelyn stepped between them.
"Stop."
Both men looked at her.
She pointed at Avery.
"You said he started everything."
Sarah nodded.
"He did."
"What does that mean?"
Sarah took a slow breath.
"Thomas Avery built the network."
"What network?"
"The one controlling the courthouse."
Evelyn frowned.
"You're saying one man controls all of this?"
"No."
Sarah shook her head.
"Not anymore."
She glanced toward Harrison.
"It grew."
"Into what?"
"Judges. Attorneys. Police officers. Clerks. Business owners. Politicians."
Evelyn's stomach tightened.
"A criminal organization?"
"Something worse."
"What could be worse?"
"A system that doesn't need to break the law because it controls the people who enforce it."
Silence.
Harrison looked down.
"How did you discover it?"
Sarah's expression became distant.
"I was investigating a missing evidence file."
"When?"
"Thirteen years ago."
"Before Mom died?"
"Yes."
Sarah looked at Evelyn.
"Mom had discovered something."
"What?"
"She discovered that people were being paid to alter court records."
Evelyn's heart sank.
"Mom?"
"She worked in the county records office."
"I thought she was a librarian."
"That was part of the cover."
Evelyn stared.
"My entire childhood was a lie."
Sarah looked at her sadly.
"Not all of it."
"How do I know?"
"You don't."
Sarah stepped closer.
"But I can tell you what happened."
Evelyn nodded.
"Tell me everything."
Sarah took a breath.
"Mom found a pattern. Certain defendants were consistently receiving lighter sentences. Evidence against them disappeared. Witnesses suddenly changed their testimony."
"Who were the defendants?"
"People connected to a company called Mercer Holdings."
Evelyn frowned.
"Mercer Holdings?"
"Yes."
"Our family?"
Sarah nodded.
Evelyn's face went pale.
"I thought Dad owned a small construction company."
"He did."
"What did that have to do with them?"
"Everything."
Evelyn looked at Harrison.
He appeared uncomfortable.
"You knew?"
Harrison answered quietly.
"I knew some of it."
"Some?"
"I didn't know the entire story."
Sarah interrupted.
"Daniel wasn't part of the network."
Evelyn looked at her.
"Then why did he hide everything?"
"Because he was blackmailed."
"With what?"
Sarah hesitated.
"You."
Evelyn's expression changed.
"Me?"
"When you were a child, you were involved in an accident."
"I remember."
"Do you?"
Evelyn frowned.
"I fell from the stairs."
"No."
Sarah shook her head.
"You were pushed."
Evelyn stared at her.
"What?"
"Someone tried to kill you."
Harrison closed his eyes.
"Sarah..."
"What?" Sarah snapped. "She deserves to know."
Evelyn turned toward Harrison.
"Is it true?"
He couldn't meet her eyes.
"Yes."
Her voice became barely audible.
"Who pushed me?"
"We never found out."
Sarah answered:
"We did."
Evelyn looked at her.
"Who?"
"Thomas Avery."
Avery smiled faintly.
"I was never charged."
Evelyn looked at him.
"You tried to kill me?"
"I needed to scare your father."
"You were willing to kill a child?"
"You were never supposed to fall that far."
Evelyn stared at him in disbelief.
Avery continued.
"Your father refused to cooperate. We needed leverage."
"Sarah?"
"Sarah was the leverage."
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Avery said nothing.
Sarah answered.
"When Dad refused, they took me."