CHAPTER 12 — THE FINAL TRUTH
The tunnel continued collapsing.
02:01...
02:00...
Marcus stood.
One arm held Lily.
The other carried Ethan.
For the first time...
Neither child was alone.
Emily quickly examined the letter.
"If this is genuine..."
Marcus interrupted.
"It is."
"I know Elena's handwriting."
Viktor's voice came through the radio.
"We found Cassandra."
"She has a helicopter waiting."
Marcus handed Lily to Emily.
"Get them outside."
Emily hesitated.
"What about you?"
Marcus loaded the pistol lying beside Samuel.
"I have one promise left to keep."
He disappeared into the smoke.
Above ground...
The Mercer Estate was burning.
Police lights painted the night red and blue.
News helicopters circled overhead.
Guests ran screaming across the lawn.
At the rooftop helipad...
Cassandra climbed into a waiting helicopter.
Richard Wells stumbled after her.
"We made it!"
She looked at him coldly.
"No."
"You didn't."
Before he could react...
She shoved him backward.
Richard fell onto the concrete just as the helicopter lifted off.
He screamed for help.
No one came.
Marcus stepped onto the rooftop through the flames.
Cassandra froze.
"You..."
"I thought you stayed underground."
Marcus slowly raised the envelope.
"You lied about everything."
She laughed sadly.
"No."
"I only lied about one thing."
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
She looked toward the burning mansion.
"I never hated Lily."
"I hated the fact..."
"...that she reminded you of Elena every single day."
Marcus's finger tightened on the trigger.
Cassandra quietly lowered her weapon.
"I've already lost."
"But Adrian..."
"...he's still alive."
Marcus's eyes widened.
"What?"
"The man you shot..."
"...was never Adrian Black."
The helicopter climbed higher.
Cassandra smiled through tears.
"The real Adrian has been watching all of us..."
"...from the beginning."
She pressed a hidden button beneath her seat.
The helicopter suddenly erupted into a massive fireball high above the estate.
The explosion lit up the entire Beverly Hills skyline.
Marcus stared in disbelief.
Cassandra had chosen death...
Taking every secret she still carried with her.
Far away, inside a dark control room filled with surveillance monitors, an elderly man calmly watched the explosion.
He poured himself a glass of whiskey.
Then smiled.
"Excellent."
"Now no one will suspect me."
He reached over and switched off one monitor.
The label beneath it read:
PROJECT MERCER — PHASE ONE COMPLETE
The old man whispered to himself.
"Marcus..."
May you like
"You still have no idea who I really am."
And the screen went black.
