Chapter 18
A False Bankruptcy
Mara opened the door herself.
The room beyond was not a patient ward. It was an archive lined with medical boxes and old financial records.
Julian stood beside a sealed cot. A child slept beneath a gray blanket.
“Who is she?” Mara asked.
“I don’t know,” Julian said.
Iris Vale stood at the far wall, pale and exhausted.
“The room was created by Quinn Meridian’s foundation,” she said. “The children were moved through the hospital under protected identities.”
“Why?”
“Because their parents were witnesses.”
Adrian entered.
Iris looked at him with open fear.
“You should not be here.”
“My brother created Q-17.”
“Your brother created the first room. Victor created the second.”
Julian lifted a file.
Inside was Quinn Meridian’s original bankruptcy petition.
The filing date came before the company missed its first payment.
Mara’s father had not filed for bankruptcy after the collapse.
He had filed before it.
“Someone forced the petition early,” Mara said.
Daniel, who had followed them downstairs, took the file.
“The court seal is genuine.”
“The debt was already prepared,” Adrian said.
On the final page, the witness signature belonged to Mara’s father.
Below it was a second signature.
Victor Mercer.
The child woke.
Her eyes opened in the dim room.
She stared at Adrian and whispered a name.
“Nathan.”
Adrian went still.
The child reached beneath her pillow and removed a plastic keycard.
“He said to give this to the girl.”
She held it toward Mara.
The card carried one word:
NORTHBRIDGE.