CHAPTER 6: The Truth Behind Project Phoenix
Silence filled the underground vault.
Victoria's hand trembled.
For the first time in twelve years, fear replaced the cruel smile on her face.
"It... it can't be you."
The mysterious man stepped into the light.
"My name is Michael Carter."
"Twelve years ago, you ordered my execution."
"You burned the warehouse."
"You buried an empty coffin."
"But you never found my body."
Victoria staggered backward.
"No..."
"You were dead!"
Michael slowly pulled a silver bullet from his pocket.
"I kept the bullet your assassin put in my chest."
"It reminded me every single day why I had to survive."
Lily stood frozen.
Her entire life she had dreamed of meeting her father.
Now he was standing only a few feet away.
With tears streaming down her face, she whispered,
"Dad...?"
Michael looked at her with trembling eyes.
"I missed every birthday."
"Every Christmas."
"Every first day of school."
"But not because I abandoned you."
"I stayed away... because Victoria promised to kill you the moment she found me."
Before Lily could embrace him—
BANG!
A sniper's bullet shattered the vault's bulletproof glass.
The shot was meant for Michael.
Instead, Daniel Brooks shoved him aside.
The bullet struck Daniel in the shoulder.
"SNIPER!" FBI agents shouted.
Gunfire erupted from every direction.
Victoria's mercenaries stormed the vault.
Smoke grenades rolled across the floor as alarms screamed throughout Ashford Manor.
Michael grabbed Lily's hand.
"We have to move!"
The three of them escaped through a hidden tunnel Richard had secretly built decades earlier.
As they reached an underground train platform, Michael suddenly stopped.
His expression changed.
Someone was waiting for them.
A tall elderly man wearing a gray suit slowly stepped out of the shadows.
Every FBI agent immediately lowered their weapons.
Daniel whispered through gritted teeth,
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The old man smiled politely.
"My name is Edward Blackwell."
"I founded Project Phoenix."
Michael's face turned pale.
"You..."
"I watched you die."
Edward chuckled softly.
"That's what I wanted everyone to believe."
He looked directly at Lily.
"My dear..."
"You've spent twelve years searching for your father."
"But you've been asking the wrong question."
He reached into his pocket and produced another DNA report.
Lily stared at the document in disbelief.
Edward smiled.
"Michael Carter is your father..."
"...but he isn't the man who shares your blood."
The report slipped from Lily's shaking hands.
There, in bold letters, was the truth that shattered everything she believed.
BIOLOGICAL FATHER: EDWARD BLACKWELL.
Michael's face turned white.
Victoria began laughing hysterically.
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And Lily realized her entire life had been built on one enormous lie.
To Be Continued...
