Mara’s voice came through the encrypted earpiece in my left ear.

“Natalie, I’ve routed the secondary servers through three international relays,” Mara said.

“But Voss’s team is trying to trace the upload. You have to authorize the final push.”

“I am on it,” I whispered, keeping my eyes on the stairs.

“How much longer do we need?”

“Ninety seconds,” Mara replied.

“They are trying to bypass our firewall from the main terminal upstairs.”

I heard a metal crowbar jam into the doorframe above.

The sound of scraping metal against the iron deadbolt made my teeth ache.

“Natalie,” Caroline called out again, her voice closer now.

“Your father was a weak man who could not handle the weight of his own accomplishments.”

“Do not make his same mistake.”

“He did not make a mistake, Mother,” I yelled back, my voice steady despite the adrenaline.

“He just finally found his conscience.”

The door gave way with a loud crack.

Footsteps sounded on the landing above.

I retreated behind the concrete pillar, pressing my back against the cold, damp stone.