CHAPTER 5: THE MAN EVERYONE THOUGHT WAS DEAD
The classified folder trembled in Adrian's hands.
Project Phoenix...
It wasn't a criminal gang.
It wasn't a secret investment.
It was an organization that erased people without leaving a trace.
The federal agents exchanged uneasy glances.
One veteran investigator finally spoke.
"We've spent fifteen years trying to expose them."
"We've never even learned who leads them."
Before Adrian could respond, Noah quietly pulled something from his pocket.
"I forgot..."
"Mom told me to give you this only if you found the file."
It was a tiny flash drive, wrapped in faded blue cloth.
Adrian inserted it into a nearby laptop.
One encrypted video appeared.
The screen flickered.
Sarah's face filled the monitor once again.
But this time...
She wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was a man everyone in America believed had died nearly twenty years earlier.
Michael Brooks.
Adrian's father.
The billionaire founder of Brooks Global.
The man whose private jet had supposedly exploded over the Atlantic Ocean.
Adrian froze.
"Dad..."
Michael looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, then they failed to kill you."
"They tried to kill me first."
The room went completely silent.
Michael continued calmly.
"My plane never crashed."
"I disappeared because Project Phoenix had already taken over governments, corporations, banks... and even law enforcement."
"They wanted Brooks Global."
"When I refused to hand it over..."
"They murdered everyone close to me."
Adrian felt the blood drain from his face.
His entire life...
Had been built on a lie.
Michael leaned closer to the camera.
"Adrian..."
"There is a traitor inside every agency."
"You cannot trust anyone."
The federal agents looked at each other nervously.
Then the laptop suddenly shut off.
Every light inside the cabin went dark.
Someone had cut the power.
Outside...
The sound of helicopter blades thundered through the night.
An agent grabbed his radio.
No response.
Every communication channel had gone dead.
Then dozens of laser sights appeared on the cabin walls.
Red dots...
Hundreds of them.
One by one.
Every federal agent raised their weapons.
A voice echoed from loudspeakers hidden in the forest.
"Adrian Brooks..."
"You should have stayed in your wheelchair."
"We gave you two years to die quietly."
"You chose war."
The cabin walls exploded inward.
Masked soldiers flooded the property from every direction.
Within seconds, Adrian realized the horrifying truth.
These weren't ordinary mercenaries.
They were using military-grade equipment...
Military helicopters...
Military encryption...
Project Phoenix wasn't hiding from the government.
Project Phoenix had infiltrated it.
As bullets shattered every window, Adrian pulled Noah behind a concrete pillar.
The boy looked up at him with terrified eyes.
"What do we do now?"
Adrian tightened his grip on his son's shoulder.
For the first time in ten years...
He smiled.
"Now..."
May you like
"They finally know I'm alive."
"And that's the biggest mistake they'll ever make."
