Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Elias and Sarah are trapped in the sub-level 4 server room as North Meridian initiates a floor-by-floor lockdown and a corrupted purge broadcast. Elias identifies the data frame: the 19:42 bolus log, Julian’s purge trace, and Project Aegis are all tied together, proving the hospital is being used for asset liquidation. Sarah risks her career by adding her clearance to the mirrored record. Elias completes the off-site transfer, but the security system identifies him, and the scene ends with the exact signature point that could collapse Julian’s authority. Julian Thorne attempts to flee to the executive helipad, believing he has successfully scrubbed the evidence. He is intercepted by Elias in the sterile, glass-walled corridor overlooking the city. Elias reveals he knows about the North Meridian liquidation deal, effectively stripping Julian of his 'sacrificial lamb' status by exposing his role as the primary architect of the fraud. Sarah risks her license to deliver North Meridian’s liquidation packet and the final 19:42 bolus record. Elias enters the boardroom before the transfer deadline, reveals the legal trigger, and identifies the single signature that can collapse Julian’s authority and the hospital’s planned asset transfer.