CHAPTER 6 – The Third Photograph
Richard ordered his men to lower their weapons.
"No one shoots."
"She's family."
Emma stepped backward.
"Family?"
Richard slowly reached into his coat.
Michael raised his pistol.
"Don't!"
Richard ignored him.
Instead...
He pulled out another old photograph.
Unlike the others...
This one had never been torn.
Three adults stood smiling beside a newborn baby.
Emma recognized everyone immediately.
Michael.
Her mother.
General Alexander Hayes.
But there was someone else.
Standing behind them.
Richard.
Younger.
Laughing.
Holding the baby's tiny hand.
On the back of the picture was a handwritten message.
"No matter what happens... Richard, promise you'll raise her as your own."
Emma felt tears roll down her face.
Richard spoke quietly.
"I made that promise to my brother."
"The night he disappeared."
Michael's expression darkened.
"You forgot the rest."
Richard nodded.
"I know."
Emma looked between them.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Richard slowly removed a silver ring from his finger.
Inside was a hidden microchip.
He placed it gently on the table.
"This..."
"...is the real Project Genesis."
Emma frowned.
"I thought Genesis was a list."
Richard shook his head.
"The list was only bait."
"The real secret has been hidden inside this ring for thirty years."
Michael's face turned white.
"You kept it?"
"I had no choice."
Richard looked at Emma.
"Your father trusted me."
"He knew everyone else had already been compromised."
Suddenly...
One of Richard's own men raised his rifle.
Without warning—
He fired.
The bullet struck Richard in the shoulder.
Chaos erupted.
The shooter shouted,
"He has the chip!"
"Kill everyone!"
Richard fell to the floor.
Blood spread across his jacket.
Before collapsing, he grabbed Emma's wrist and shoved the ring into her hand.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Don't trust..."
He coughed blood.
"...the people coming to save you."
Helicopters roared overhead.
Military vehicles surrounded the cabin.
Men in official uniforms stormed the clearing.
Their commander removed his sunglasses.
Emma's heart stopped.
She recognized him instantly.
He wasn't a stranger.
He had attended her college graduation.
He had hugged Richard at family dinners.
He had even celebrated Christmas with them.
Smiling coldly, he raised a government badge.
"Emma Hayes..."
May you like
"We've been looking for you since the day you were born."
To be continued...
