CHAPTER 5 – The Shot That Changed Everything
The chairman's hand disappeared inside his jacket.
A pistol flashed beneath the ballroom lights.
"Nobody move!" he shouted.
Panic erupted.
Guests screamed and dove beneath the banquet tables as crystal glasses shattered across the marble floor.
The federal agents reached for their weapons, but the chairman grabbed Lily and pulled her in front of him.
"One more step, and the little girl dies."
Claire screamed.
"Lily!"
The terrified child burst into tears.
"Daddy!"
Without thinking, Ethan stepped forward with his hands raised.
"Take me."
"Let her go."
The chairman laughed.
"You still don't understand, Ethan."
"This was never about money."
"It was about your grandfather."
Jonathan Hawthorne slowly walked forward, showing no fear.
"You've hidden long enough, Richard."
The chairman's face twisted with rage.
"So... you finally remember my name."
The guests looked at each other in confusion.
Richard wasn't just the chairman of the Hawthorne Board.
He was Jonathan Hawthorne's younger brother.
Forty years earlier, the two brothers had built the Hawthorne empire together.
But when Jonathan was chosen to lead the company, Richard disappeared—taking millions of dollars and swearing revenge.
Everyone believed he had died overseas.
Instead...
He had secretly returned under a new identity, spending decades infiltrating the company from within.
Every tragedy...
Every forged document...
Every lie that separated Ethan and Claire...
Had been orchestrated by him.
Richard tightened his grip on Lily.
"Victoria was only my puppet."
"I promised her power."
"She gave me complete control."
Victoria lowered her head in horror.
She had sacrificed everything for a man who had never cared about her.
Richard smiled coldly.
"Now the Hawthorne bloodline ends tonight."
He aimed the gun at Ethan.
Claire closed her eyes.
Jonathan suddenly stepped between them.
BANG!
The shot echoed through the ballroom.
Jonathan collapsed.
Blood spread across his white shirt.
"Grandfather!" Ethan cried.
Richard used the chaos to drag Lily toward a waiting black SUV outside the ballroom.
The tires screeched.
Within seconds...
The vehicle disappeared into the night.
Claire fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Ethan held his bleeding grandfather in his arms.
Jonathan struggled to breathe.
With the last of his strength, he pressed a small brass key into Ethan's hand.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Locker... 917..."
"Everything... you need..."
"...isn't in the Hawthorne estate."
His hand went limp.
The monitors carried by paramedics began to scream.
As the ambulance doors slammed shut, Ethan looked down at the tiny brass key.
Engraved on it were four chilling words:
PROJECT PHOENIX – LEVEL 7
He had thought he was fighting for his family.
Now he realized...
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He had just uncovered a conspiracy far bigger than the Hawthorne empire itself.
To Be Continued...
