CHAPTER 6: THE CODE NAME "ORACLE"
Gunfire echoed through the forest.
The cabin shook as bullets ripped through the walls, sending splinters flying in every direction.
Federal agents fought back, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.
One by one, their radios went silent.
Adrian shielded Noah behind a thick stone chimney.
"Don't move," he whispered.
"I'll never let them take you."
Just then, one of the wounded agents crawled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
With his last breath, he pressed a black satellite phone into Adrian's hand.
"There's... one person..."
"...you can still trust."
Adrian frowned.
"Who?"
The agent coughed violently.
"Code name..."
"Oracle."
Then he died.
The satellite phone suddenly rang.
Everyone froze.
Adrian answered.
A calm female voice spoke.
"Mr. Brooks."
"You have exactly four minutes before the cabin is destroyed."
Adrian tightened his grip on the phone.
"Who are you?"
"I told your father I would protect his family."
"My name doesn't matter."
"My code name is Oracle."
Adrian's eyes widened.
"My father knew you?"
"For over thirty years."
Outside, explosions shook the ground.
The mysterious woman continued.
"Listen carefully."
"Project Phoenix believes they're hunting you."
"They don't realize you've already walked into their greatest weakness."
"What weakness?"
There was a brief silence.
Then Oracle spoke six words that changed everything.
"Victoria doesn't work for Phoenix."
Adrian stopped breathing.
"What?"
"She runs it."
The world around him seemed to collapse.
Every assassination...
Every betrayal...
Every fake accident...
Every death...
Had been ordered by the woman sleeping beside him for years.
Oracle continued.
"She married you to steal Brooks Global."
"When that wasn't enough..."
"She tried to erase your bloodline."
Noah looked at Adrian in confusion.
"Is... she the bad lady?"
Adrian slowly nodded.
Before he could say another word, the satellite phone buzzed again.
A file had just arrived.
Inside were hundreds of classified photographs.
Victoria...
Shaking hands with presidents.
Victoria...
Meeting intelligence chiefs.
Victoria...
Standing beside judges, billionaires, and military generals.
Then Adrian reached the final image.
His hands began to tremble.
It wasn't Victoria.
It wasn't Sarah.
It wasn't his father.
It was Noah.
Taken just three days before Sarah died.
The photo showed Noah leaving school, completely unaware that someone was watching him through a sniper scope.
Beneath the image were five chilling words.
"Target scheduled for elimination."
Adrian's face turned to stone.
"They hunted my son..."
"...before Sarah was even dead."
Oracle spoke one final time.
"Mr. Brooks..."
"You have one chance."
"If Victoria reaches Brooks Global headquarters tomorrow morning..."
"Project Phoenix wins forever."
The call disconnected.
At that exact moment, a deafening explosion tore through the cabin.
The roof collapsed behind Adrian and Noah as flames engulfed the building.
Adrian lifted his son into his arms and ran into the burning night.
He had only one destination left.
Brooks Global.
Because by sunrise...
He wasn't going there to reclaim his company.
May you like
He was going there...
to expose the most powerful woman in America live on national television.
