Chapter 6 - SEVENTY-TWO MINUTESJulien was heavier than Lucie remembered.
Not because he had gained weight.
He hadn't.
His body was painfully thin beneath the medical uniform.
But unconsciousness made him difficult to support, and every second she struggled to hold him reminded her how close she had come to losing him forever.
"Help me!"
Valois rushed forward.
Together, they carried Julien into a storage room.
Mara locked the door.
Lucie pressed a folded towel against the wound in her brother's side.
"Stay with me."
Julien opened his eyes.
"You're still bossy."
She laughed through her tears.
"And you're still terrible at following instructions."
He tried to smile.
Then he winced.
Valois examined the wound.
"It looks like a grazing injury. He's lost blood, but I don't think the bullet penetrated deeply."
"We need a doctor."
Mara looked toward the corridor.
"Not one who works here."
Julien caught Lucie's wrist.
"No hospital wing."
"Julien, you're bleeding."
"Listen."
His expression became serious.
"Seventy-two minutes."
"What happens in seventy-two minutes?"
"The evidence disappears."
He struggled to sit up.
Lucie gently pushed him back.
"Tell me."
"Helix Meridian is transferring its database to a remote server. Once the transfer is complete, the original records will be destroyed."
"Then we need to stop it."
Julien shook his head.
"That's only half the problem."
He explained that the company had installed a failsafe designed to erase local evidence if unauthorized access was detected.
But the system controlled more than computers.
It was connected to Building D's security doors, emergency ventilation controls, and power management equipment.
A rushed shutdown could trap patients and employees inside.
Lucie stared at him.
"How many people?"
"Forty-three registered patients. Maybe more."
Mara looked away.
"Some aren't registered."
Julien nodded.
"That's why I stayed."
Lucie felt tears rising again.
"You had a chance to escape?"
"Twice."
"Why didn't you?"
He looked at her.
"Because I couldn't leave them."
For three years, Lucie had imagined her brother desperately waiting to be rescued.
Instead, he had been protecting strangers.
Even while imprisoned.
Even while frightened.
Even while believing he might never see his family again.
She brushed his hair away from his forehead.
"You should have come home."
"I wanted to."
"Then why didn't you?"
Julien's eyes filled.
"Because every time I tried, I saw the people who couldn't."
Silence filled the room.
Then Lucie leaned forward and embraced him carefully.
"I've missed you."
He closed his eyes.
"I know."
"No. You don't."
Her voice broke.
"I kept your apartment. I paid the rent for six months because I thought you'd come back. I couldn't throw away your coffee mug. I couldn't even delete your number."
Julien began crying.
"I'm sorry."
She shook her head.
"Don't apologize for surviving."
For a few precious seconds, they were simply brother and sister again.
Then the lights flickered.
A digital clock appeared on the wall monitor.
01:08:43
The countdown had begun.
Julien looked at it.
"They're accelerating the transfer."
Valois stepped toward the door.
"We need outside help."
Lucie nodded.
"Call the national investigative unit."
Valois hesitated.
Mara noticed.
"You're still afraid of Bellamy."
Valois looked at her.
"He's spent decades placing people inside institutions."
Lucie stood.
"Then we find someone he hasn't bought."
Julien reached into his shirt and removed a small metal pendant.
Their mother's pendant.
Lucie recognized it immediately.
"Where did you get that?"
"Mom gave it to me before she died."
He pressed it into her hand.
"Open it."
Inside was a tiny memory card.
Lucie stared.
Julien whispered, "Mom knew what they were doing. She recorded everything."
"Everything?"
"Enough to destroy them."
The clock continued counting down.
01:07:19
Then the monitor changed.
A live feed showed forty-three people seated inside a locked medical ward.
An automated voice announced:
"Emergency containment protocol initiated."
Heavy doors began closing.
Julien tried to stand.
Lucie caught him.
"What is happening?"
He looked at the screen in horror.
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"THEY'RE NOT WAITING FOR THE TRANSFER. THEY'RE LOCKING THE PATIENTS INSIDE NOW."
End of Chapter 6 — Cliffhanger: Forty-three patients are trapped, and Lucie must choose between saving them and securing the evidence against Bellamy.
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