CHAPTER 5 – The Secret Hidden for Seven Years
The broadcast ended.
Every screen turned black.
Silence filled the Whitmore mansion.
Detective Mason stared at the frozen image of the tattoo.
"Find every person connected to this symbol," he ordered.
"Forensics. FBI. Everyone."
Within minutes, federal agents arrived.
One of them walked directly toward Ethan.
"I'm Agent Rebecca Hayes."
"What you're involved in is much bigger than a kidnapping."
Ethan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Rebecca opened a classified file.
Across the top, stamped in red letters, were the words:
PROJECT PHOENIX – CLASSIFIED
"It was supposed to be destroyed seven years ago."
Across town, Eleanor finally told Lily the truth.
"You weren't taken because your family was rich."
"You were taken because of what your father discovered."
Lily clutched the music box.
"My father?"
Eleanor nodded.
"He was a cybersecurity genius."
"He uncovered a criminal network that had been stealing children's identities and laundering billions of dollars through fake charities."
Lily's heart pounded.
"The Safe Tomorrow Foundation..."
Eleanor's eyes widened.
"You know that name?"
Lily slowly nodded.
"I heard the police say it."
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"That foundation wasn't helping children."
"It was choosing them."
Meanwhile...
Agent Hayes opened another folder.
Inside were photographs of dozens of children.
Some were smiling.
Some were crying.
Some were marked with a red X.
Ethan's stomach turned.
"What does the X mean?"
The agent hesitated.
"It means they were never found."
She pointed to another photo.
Lily's picture had no X.
Instead...
Under her name were three chilling words.
STATUS: ACTIVE TARGET
Suddenly...
Every phone inside the command center rang at exactly the same time.
Every screen flashed.
Then a robotic voice echoed through the building.
"You have exactly one hour."
"If Lily survives..."
"The truth survives."
"If she dies..."
"So does Project Phoenix."
The countdown appeared.
00:59:59
00:59:58
00:59:57
Panic erupted.
Detective Mason shouted,
"Trace the signal!"
"It keeps bouncing through satellites!"
A technician looked horrified.
"They're using our own government network!"
At Eleanor's mansion...
The lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed every room.
The security guards reached for their weapons.
Then...
A loud explosion shattered the front gate.
Smoke filled the driveway.
Black armored SUVs crashed through the entrance.
Masked men wearing the same tattoo stormed onto the property.
Gunfire erupted.
Windows exploded.
Guards fell one by one.
Eleanor grabbed Lily's hand.
"Run!"
They sprinted toward a hidden passage beneath the library.
Just before the secret door closed...
Lily looked back.
One masked man slowly removed his mask.
She froze.
"No..."
It wasn't a stranger.
It was someone she had trusted her entire life.
Someone who had tucked her into bed...
Packed her school lunches...
And called himself...
May you like
Dad.
TO BE CONTINUED...
