CHAPTER 7 — The Man Behind the Phoenix
CHAPTER 7 — The Man Behind the Phoenix
The bunker fell silent.
The cutting torch stopped.
Only Ethan's soft breathing broke the tension.
Marcus kept his rifle trained on the steel door.
Charles stood in front of me, one hand shielding us, the other gripping his pistol so tightly his knuckles turned white.
The voice came again.
"Open the door."
"No."
Charles didn't hesitate.
"You have ten seconds before my team breaches it anyway."
Marcus glanced at Charles.
"They're bluffing."
The stranger answered before anyone could speak again.
"No, Marcus."
"We're not."
Marcus's face lost all color.
"They know my name."
A small device slid beneath the door.
Instead of a grenade...
It was a secure military identification badge.
Marcus picked it up carefully.
His eyes widened.
"It's authentic."
Charles looked at it.
The badge belonged to the Federal Organized Crime Task Force.
The name read:
Director Daniel Brooks.
Charles lowered his weapon slightly.
"Open it."
The heavy door unlocked.
Five tactical officers entered first, securing every corner of the bunker.
Behind them walked a man in his early sixties.
Gray hair.
Plain suit.
No body armor.
No visible weapon.
He looked more like a history professor than someone commanding armed agents.
Director Brooks looked directly at Charles.
"I've been trying to reach you for three years."
Charles laughed bitterly.
"Funny way to introduce yourself."
"We couldn't trust your communications."
Brooks placed a thick evidence file on the table.
"Neither could your board."
Inside the file were photographs.
Executives.
Politicians.
Military contractors.
Foreign investors.
Every face connected by red lines.
At the center sat one photograph.
Clara Bennett.
My stomach dropped.
Charles stared at the picture.
"No."
Brooks nodded slowly.
"Your Chief Operations Officer."
"She built Project Aurora."
Marcus whispered,
"She was with Mrs. Walker from the beginning."
"Exactly."
Brooks looked at Charles.
"She also ordered the hit on Evelyn when your wife tried to expose the program."
The room went quiet.
Everything finally made sense.
The nursery.
The phone messages.
The ambush.
Clara had always been one step ahead because she had been standing beside Charles all along.
Brooks turned toward me.
"Emily."
"Yes?"
"We've reviewed your forensic work."
I frowned.
"How?"
"The moment you entered the accounting system, every keystroke was mirrored onto our servers."
Charles looked surprised.
"You were watching her?"
"We were hoping she'd find what our agents couldn't."
He smiled.
"And she did."
I blinked.
"I only followed the numbers."
Brooks nodded.
"Sometimes numbers tell the truth better than people."
Suddenly every phone in the bunker buzzed.
Breaking News.
A live broadcast interrupted every television network.
Clara Bennett stood inside Biotech Solutions headquarters surrounded by reporters.
She smiled confidently.
"My name is Clara Bennett."
"I have tragic news."
"Charles Walker has kidnapped one of our employees and stolen proprietary government research."
She held up security footage.
Me.
Holding Ethan.
Running through the parking garage.
The video had been edited.
Charles appeared to be dragging us away by force.
The reporters erupted.
Within seconds every news channel labeled Charles a fugitive.
Brooks closed his eyes.
"She's moving faster than we expected."
Charles looked at the director.
"Then we stop hiding."
For the first time since I'd met him...
The cold billionaire disappeared.
May you like
In his place stood a father.
"I'm ending this today."
