The Blue Folder

Jake Morrison's POV

Jake's hands shook as he unlocked his father's law office at midnight. The killers at the hospital had given up looking for him after he escaped through the emergency exit, but they'd be back. He had maybe an hour before they found him here.

The building felt different in the dark. Every shadow looked like a hidden person. Every creak of the old building made Jake jump.

But he had to find that blue box. Tommy Whitfield's life depends on it. And maybe Maya's too, if she was still living.

Jake turned on a small desk lamp and pulled out his father's note again. "The truth is hidden where you first learned what justice means."

Where had Jake first learned about justice? He thought back to his childhood, spending summers in this office while his father worked on cases. Thomas Morrison had always told Jake that a lawyer's job was to protect people who couldn't protect themselves.

Jake started looking through the filing cabinets. Nothing but old cases and court papers. He checked behind pictures on the wall. Nothing.

Then Jake remembered something. When he was eight years old, his father had shown him a secret hiding place behind the family photo on the desk. "This is where lawyers keep their most important secrets," Thomas had said with a wink.

Jake grabbed the framed picture of his family. His mother, father, and himself at the beach. Back when his mother was still alive. Before the "accident" that Jake now knew was murder.

Behind the frame, Jake found a small keyboard built into the wall.

His heart beat. What would the sum be?

Jake tried his birthday. Wrong.

He tried his mother's birthday. Wrong.

Then Jake had an idea. He tried the date his mother died. The day that changed everything for their family.

The keypad beeped softly, and a piece of the wall swung open like a door.

Inside was a small safe. And sitting right in front was a blue folder.

Jake pulled it out with shaky hands and opened it.

The first thing he saw was a picture that made his stomach turn. Judge Brennan shaking hands with a man Jake recognized from FBI wanted ads. Vincent "The Snake" Torrino, one of the most dangerous crooks in America.

The next shot showed Mayor Whitfield counting money in what looked like a warehouse. Stacks and stacks of cash covered a table.

Then came bank records. Judge Brennan's secret account had gotten over two million dollars in the past five years. Sheriff Dale Morrison had gotten eight hundred thousand. Mayor Whitfield had gotten almost three million.

But the most shocking find was a list of names. Not just neighborhood officials, but state senators, federal judges, even some people in Washington D.C.

The Millbrook plot wasn't small. It was huge.

At the bottom of the folder, Jake found a letter written to him in his father's handwriting: "Son, if you're reading this, something has happened to me. I've been working undercover for the FBI for six years, trying to expose a criminal network that goes from Millbrook to the White House. The 'Circle' you've found is just the local branch of something much bigger. " Your mother found out about this network eight years ago. She was going to expose them in her daily column. That's why they killed her and made it look like a car accident. "I've been gathering proof ever since, pretending to be one of them while secretly working for Agent Michael Torres. But three months ago, they found out Torres was FBI and killed him. Now they suspect me too. " The evidence in this folder shows everything. Murder, bribes, election fraud, drug trafficking, and worse. But Jake, there's something else you need to know. The network has been planning something big. They call it 'The Reset.' " They're going to cause a disaster that will let them declare martial rule and take control of the government. The disaster is planned for next week, during the election. " Find Agent Sarah Kim at the FBI. She's the only one we can trust. Give her this proof. And son, whatever you do, don't trust anyone in Millbrook law enforcement. They're all compromised. "I love you, and I'm proud of you. Finish what your mother and I started. Make them pay for what they've done. " Dad

" P.S. - The boys in jail are innocent. Tommy Whitfield was being blackmailed to stay quiet about seeing the network's actions. Danny Santos observed them dumping poison and had to be silenced. Sarah Martinez was killed because she found the same proof your mother did. They're using the boys as scapegoats while they prepare for The Reset."

Jake sat back in his chair, stunned. His parents had both been killed for trying to reveal this conspiracy. And now he was holding the proof that could bring down the whole network.

But first, he had to save Tommy and Danny. And find Maya.

Jake stuffed the folder into his jacket and headed for the door. But as he reached for the light switch, he heard something that made his blood freeze.

Glass breaking downstairs.

Someone was in the building.

Jake turned off the lamp and crept to the window. Three black SUVs were stopped outside. Men in dark clothes circled the building.

They'd found him.

Jake could hear footsteps on the stairs now. Heavy boots. Multiple people coming up fast.

There was no other way out. The office was on the second floor, and the only exit was the door the guys were coming through.

Jake looked around frantically. The window? Too high to jump without breaking his legs.

Then he remembered the old dumbwaiter his grandfather had put to move heavy law books between floors. It was hidden behind a cabinet in the corner.

Jake pushed the bookshelf away and opened the small door. The dumbwaiter was tiny, barely big enough for a person. But it was his only chance.

Jake squeezed inside just as the office door burst open.

"Search everything," a familiar voice ordered. Sheriff Dale Morrison. "He's got to be here somewhere."

"What if he already found what he was looking for?" another person asked.

"Then we're all dead men. That folder holds enough evidence to put us all in prison for life."

Jake held his breath as the dumbwaiter slowly dropped him toward the first floor. The ropes were old and creaky. Any sound would give him away.

"Check behind every picture. Look for secret safes," Dale ordered. "His father was nervous. He could have hidden proof anywhere."

Jake reached the first floor and carefully climbed out of the dumbwaiter. He was in the building's old kitchen, now used for storage.

Through the roof, he could hear the men tearing apart his father's office. Looking for the same proof Jake now carried.

Jake crept toward the back door. Almost there. Just a few more steps.

But as he reached for the door handle, it turned from the outside.

Jake dove behind a pile of boxes just as the door opened.

"Anything?" a man asked as he entered.

"Not yet. But Morrison says the kid's got to be here. His car is outside."

Jake's heart sank. They'd seen his car. He couldn't leave that way.

"Well, find him. The boss wants him dead before morning. And make sure you get that folder. If it gets out, we're all finished."

The man walked past Jake's hidden spot and headed upstairs.

Jake waited until the footsteps faded, then carefully stood up.

But as he turned toward the door, he found himself face to face with someone he never expected to see.

Maya Chen stood in the doorway, living but bloody. Her shoulder was bound, and her eyes were wild with fear.

"Jake," she whispered. "Thank God you're alive. We have to get out of here right now."

"Maya! How did you—"

"I'll explain later. Right now we need to—"

Maya's words were cut off by a sound that made them both freeze.

The click of a gun being cocked.

"Well, well," said Sheriff Dale Morrison from the kitchen doorway. "Look what we have here. Both little birds in the same box."

Dale's gun was pointed straight at Jake's head.

"You know, Jake, your father was my favorite uncle. It really hurt when I had to help poison him."

Jake stared at his cousin in shock. "You... you killed my father?"

"Family business, cuz. Nothing personal." Dale's finger tightened on the trigger. "Now hand over that folder, and I might make this quick."

But just as Dale was about to pull the gun, Maya stepped forward.

"Wait," she said. "There's something you need to know about that folder."

"What?"

Maya smiled sadly. "It's not the real facts. Jake's father was smarter than you think. The blue box you're all looking for? It's a fake. A fake."

Jake stared at Maya in confusion. What was she talking about?

Dale dropped his gun slightly. "What do you mean, fake?"

"I mean Thomas Morrison knew someone in his family was working for the Circle. So he made a fake blue folder to flush out the traitor." Maya's eyes locked onto Jake's. "The real proof is hidden somewhere else. Somewhere only Jake can find it."

Dale's face went red with anger. "You're lying."

"Am I? Then why don't you look at what's in Jake's folder right now?"

Jake pulled out the folder, still confused. But as he opened it, his eyes widened.

The folder was empty except for one piece of paper.

A note that read: "If you're reading this, it means someone in the family betrayed us. The real evidence is where we buried Thunder."

Thunder. Jake's pet dog. They'd buried him in the backyard of the old family house when Jake was twelve.

Dale grabbed the note and read it. His face turned white.

"No. NO! The real evidence was supposed to be here!"

But Maya was already going. While Dale was distracted by the note, she grabbed a heavy law book and smashed it into his head.

Dale stumbled backward, dropping his gun.

"Run!" Maya shouted.

Jake and Maya ran for the back door as Dale's men pounded down the stairs behind them.

They burst outside into the cold night air and ran toward the woods behind the building.

But as they reached the tree line, Jake heard Dale's voice screaming with rage: "Find them! And get to the old Morrison house! If the real proof is there, destroy it! Destroy everything!"

Jake and Maya ran deeper into the dark woods, branches tearing at their clothes.

"Maya," Jake panted as they ran. "How did you know about the fake folder?"

"I didn't," Maya gasped back. "I made it up to buy us time."

"Then that means..."

"Yeah. The folder you found was real. And now they know exactly where to find the rest of the proof."

Behind them, car engines roared to life as Dale's men raced toward the old Morrison family house.

Jake realized with growing fear that he'd just led the killers straight to his father's most important secrets.

And by the time they got there, it might be too late to stop them.