CHAPTER 8 — The Bodyguard's Secret
That night, Michael invited Daniel back to Harrington Manor.
It was the first time in twenty years they had sat across from each other in silence.
Finally, Michael spoke.
"I owe you my life twice."
Daniel shook his head.
"You owe me nothing."
"You owe the dead."
Emily placed the old voice recorder on the table.
Michael listened carefully.
His face slowly turned pale.
"Ryan?"
"No..."
"He's been with me since college."
Daniel quietly replied,
"Exactly."
"Who better to hide than the man everyone trusts?"
At that very moment...
Ryan Cole entered the mansion carrying Michael's evening medication.
His expression never changed.
"Your medicine, sir."
Michael accepted the glass...
But didn't drink.
Instead, he asked casually,
"Ryan..."
"Where were you twenty years ago?"
For the first time...
Ryan hesitated.
Only for half a second.
But Daniel noticed.
Ryan smiled.
"I was serving overseas."
Daniel stood.
"No."
"You were serving with me."
The room fell silent.
Ryan slowly placed the medicine tray onto the table.
Then...
He laughed.
Not nervously.
Not angrily.
Confidently.
"You finally figured it out."
Before anyone could react, Ryan pulled a hidden switch beneath the tray.
The mansion lights instantly went dark.
Emergency alarms blared.
Every security camera went offline.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Masked mercenaries stormed the estate from every direction.
Ryan stepped backward into the darkness.
His final words echoed through the room:
"You were never hunting the conspiracy, Captain..."
"...the conspiracy has been hunting you."
A massive explosion ripped through the west wing of Harrington Manor.
The mansion shook violently.
Smoke filled the halls.
Daniel grabbed Emily with one arm and pulled Michael behind a collapsing wall.
As flames spread through the estate, Daniel looked toward the burning staircase.
Ryan Cole was gone.
But on the polished marble floor, he had left behind one final message—written in blood:
"The real mastermind is waiting in Washington."
Daniel stared at the words.
May you like
He realized everything they had uncovered so far...
Had only been the beginning.
