Chapter 67
At that moment, James’ lips trembled slightly, and his breath became uneven. His hands were shaking as he stared into the empty safe. The words that came out of his mouth were slow and broken, like a man trying to convince himself of a reality that made no sense.
"What... what is going on?" he muttered, his voice almost a whisper. "I clearly remember... I kept it here. Right here. Where... where did it go?"
His eyes darted around the safe, as if hoping the flash drive might magically appear in a corner he had somehow missed. But the truth was staring him back cold and undeniable.
Emily, standing right behind him, felt a chill run down her spine. Her brows furrowed, and her voice dropped to a careful tone as she asked, "Wait... are you sure you actually kept it here? Like, completely sure? Could it have been somewhere else? Maybe another safe? Another drawer?"
Immediately James whipped his head around, his frustration bubbling out. "No! How do you even say that, by the way?" he snapped, then ran his hand through his hair. "I remember I kept it here. This is the only place I kept that flash drive. I made sure, damn sure that nothing else was inside this safe. It was just the flash drive. Alone. Nothing more. Nothing less."
He turned back to the empty box, as if still trying to comprehend how it could be gone.
His mind was racing. His heart was pounding. And his face slowly began to change not just confused anymore, but terrified.
Emily looked at him for a long second. Then slowly, she turned her head toward the door of the storage room, her eyes narrowing in thought. Something wasn’t adding up.
She turned back to James and said softly but with weight in her voice, "Could it be... that the same person who wiped your laptop also opened the safe... and took away the flash drive?"
At that moment, James stepped back from the open safe, his chest rising and falling as disbelief washed over him like a cold wave. His voice trembled as he spoke, barely able to believe his own words.