CHAPTER 13 — THE LIGHTHOUSE PROTOCOL
Daniel survived emergency surgery.
Before slipping back to sleep, he managed to write two words on a hospital notepad.
Harbor Seven.
Nathan immediately recognized them.
"The Lighthouse."
"It isn't a building."
"It's a protocol."
Just before dawn, Amelia, Nathan, Evelyn, and a small team of trusted Lantern Circle members arrived at an abandoned harbor warehouse.
The place looked forgotten.
Rust covered the shipping containers.
Broken windows overlooked the gray ocean.
But hidden beneath the concrete floor was a massive operations center.
Hundreds of secure communication terminals lit up simultaneously.
Maps of the world appeared across giant digital displays.
Small green lights blinked on nearly every continent.
Evelyn smiled.
"The Lantern Circle never had one headquarters."
"It had thousands of ordinary people connected by one promise."
One by one, volunteers from around the world checked in.
A teacher in Kenya.
A firefighter in Canada.
A judge in Brazil.
A nurse in Japan.
A mechanic in Australia.
None of them were famous.
None of them were wealthy.
Yet together, they formed a network built on honesty instead of power.
Amelia suddenly understood.
The Lantern Circle had never been a secret society.
It was a community of people who quietly chose integrity when no one was watching.
Then every monitor in the room abruptly went black.
A single symbol appeared.
A black crown.
The voice of the Sovereign Council echoed through the speakers.
"Congratulations, Amelia Brooks."
"You've finally found the Lighthouse."
"Exactly where we wanted you."
At that moment, alarms blared throughout the underground facility.
One of the green lights on the world map turned red.
Then another.
Then another.
Within seconds...
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Dozens of Lantern Circle safe houses around the world were under attack.
The real war had just begun.
