Chapter 3 - The Ghost in the Machine"Play it."
Daniel's command echoed across the foyer.
Marcus connected his tablet to the enormous wall display.
The screen flickered.
A black-and-white security feed appeared.
The basement locker corridor.
Timestamp: 10:14:22 A.M.
Clara watched in silence.
Her locker stood closed.
Then someone entered the frame.
A woman in a black dress.
Blonde hair.
High heels.
Clara's breath caught.
Vanessa.
The room went silent.
Vanessa approached locker forty-two.
She looked around.
Then reached into her handbag.
She produced a master keycard.
Click.
The locker opened.
Clara's hands began trembling.
On screen, Vanessa removed the necklace from her handbag.
She pushed it behind Clara's spare uniform.
Then locked the locker again.
The footage ended.
Nobody moved.
Vanessa's face had turned white.
"That's fake."
Marcus stared at her.
"It's raw footage."
"You edited it!"
"I didn't."
"You're lying!"
Marcus held up the tablet.
"The cloud backup contains the original metadata. Your master keycard accessed the locker at exactly 10:15."
Daniel slowly turned toward Vanessa.
His expression had changed.
The disappointment in his eyes was gone.
Something colder had replaced it.
"You framed her."
Vanessa backed away.
"Daniel—"
"You framed an innocent employee."
May you like
His voice was almost a whisper.
And somehow that made it more terrifying.
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