CHAPTER 14 — THE MAN BEHIND THE SHADOWS
Two nights later...
Grace and Nathan arrived at an abandoned church hidden deep in the countryside.
According to Holloway's letter, Shepherd had once used the old bell tower as a dead drop during covert operations.
The church was silent.
Candles had long since burned away.
Wooden pews sat beneath layers of dust.
Grace noticed something carved beneath the altar.
A small bird.
The same bird from her tattoo.
She pressed against the carving.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside rested a weathered notebook.
Not classified documents.
Not mission reports.
A diary.
The first page was signed with one name.
Daniel Cross.
Nathan stared in disbelief.
"My father..."
Grace looked up.
"You never told me your father served."
"I didn't know."
Page after page revealed an impossible truth.
Daniel Cross had opposed Project Vulture from the beginning.
He had secretly copied evidence, hidden children's identities, and built escape routes for those he could save.
His final journal entry ended with one heartbreaking sentence.
If my son ever learns the truth, tell him I tried to stop them.
Nathan's voice cracked.
"My father died believing he'd failed."
Grace placed a hand on his shoulder.
"No."
"He gave us the map that led here."
Suddenly...
The old church doors creaked open.
An elderly man stepped inside carrying nothing but a walking cane.
White beard.
Blue eyes.
Weathered military posture.
He smiled gently.
"I've been waiting a long time to meet you, Grace."
Nathan stared at him.
"No..."
"It can't be."
The old man nodded.
"My codename was Shepherd."
"And I'm the last living founder of Project Vulture."
Grace instinctively stepped between him and Nathan.
"Why should we believe you?"
The old man quietly removed his jacket.
Across his shoulder was an old scar.
Then he spoke the words only Eleanor had ever said to Grace.
"You were never born to be a weapon."
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
"My mother trusted you."
He nodded once.
"I promised her I'd protect you if she couldn't."
Then his expression changed.
May you like
"But someone followed me."
Gunfire shattered the church windows.
