CHAPTER 5 – The Bloodline They Tried to Erase
Thomas shoved Emily behind him as the men in black climbed the porch.
"You’re not taking her."
The leader gave a cold smile.
"You misunderstand, Mr. Carter. She doesn't belong to you."
Before anyone could move, Shadow lunged.
The enormous wolf slammed into the first man, knocking him into the porch railing. Two others reached for hidden weapons, but Shadow moved with terrifying precision, forcing them backward without killing a single one.
"He was trained..." one man gasped. "Just like the reports said."
Thomas's heart pounded.
The reports?
They had been watching Shadow all these years.
The leader slowly raised his hands.
"Enough."
The men lowered their weapons.
"We're not here to hurt Emily."
Emily stepped forward.
"Then why have you lied to me my entire life?"
The man pulled a faded document from his coat.
"It's time you knew the truth."
He handed it to Thomas.
Across the top, stamped in red, were the words:
PROJECT GUARDIAN – CLASSIFIED
Thomas's hands trembled as he read.
Forty-two years earlier, Captain Hayes had uncovered a secret organization operating inside the government.
The explosion on Blackwood Mountain had never been an accident.
It had been an assassination attempt.
Captain Hayes escaped.
Everyone else was told he died.
Emily wasn't simply his daughter.
She carried evidence that could destroy the organization forever.
As a baby, hidden inside the silver locket around her neck was an encrypted microchip containing every classified document Hayes had stolen before disappearing.
Thomas looked at Emily in horror.
"They've never been searching for you..."
"They've been searching for what's around your neck."
At that exact moment...
A sniper's bullet shattered the living room window.
The leader in black was hit in the shoulder before he could react.
Chaos erupted.
Shadow barked once.
Not in fear.
May you like
As a warning.
Someone far more dangerous had just arrived.
