Chapter 7 - The Father Who Never DiedMarcus couldn't move.
His father's face remained burned into his mind.
Alive.
Older.
Calm.
Impossible.
Richard Blackwell had been buried twelve years ago.
Marcus had watched the coffin disappear beneath the earth.
He had delivered the eulogy.
He had held his mother's hand.
He had cried beside the grave.
He had spent twelve years believing his father was gone.
Now Ethan was telling him everything had been a lie.
Marcus turned toward Daniel.
"Explain."
Daniel said nothing.
"EXPLAIN!"
His voice echoed through the vault.
Daniel flinched.
"I don't know everything."
"Then tell me what you know."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
Ethan nodded.
Daniel opened the file.
"Your father didn't die twelve years ago."
Marcus stared at him.
"He staged his death."
"Why?"
"Because someone inside the Foundation tried to kill him."
Marcus looked at Ethan.
"And you?"
"I discovered the truth."
"When?"
"Six years ago."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"The boating accident."
Ethan nodded.
"It wasn't an accident."
Marcus felt his stomach turn.
"Who caused it?"
Ethan looked at Daniel.
Daniel answered.
"Someone inside your family."
Silence.
Marcus looked at both men.
"My mother?"
"No."
"Thorne?"
"No."
"Daniel?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Then who?"
Ethan stepped forward.
"Your wife."
Marcus froze.
The room seemed to stop breathing.
"My wife is dead."
Ethan's eyes hardened.
"So was I."
Marcus stared at him.
"You think she survived?"
"I know she did."
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
Ethan opened another file.
Inside was a series of photographs.
A woman.
Blonde hair.
Black coat.
Walking into an airport.
Then a hotel.
Then a private clinic.
Marcus recognized her immediately.
His wife.
Elena.
His dead wife.
His knees nearly gave out.
"Where did you get these?"
"From the Foundation."
Marcus picked up another photograph.
Elena was standing beside Victor Hale.
The attorney from the cemetery photograph.
Marcus's hands began shaking.
"When were these taken?"
"Three years after her funeral."
Marcus stared.
"That's impossible."
Ethan's voice softened.
"That's what they wanted you to believe."
Marcus threw the photographs onto the table.
"Why would Elena fake her death?"
Ethan hesitated.
"Because she was never Elena Blackwell."
Marcus looked up.
"What?"
Ethan opened another file.
A passport.
A different name.
Claire Morgan.
Marcus stared.
"Who is she?"
"Someone your father recruited."
"To do what?"
"To marry you."
Marcus felt something inside him break.
"No."
"Marcus—"
"No!"
He slammed his fist onto the table.
"My wife loved me."
Ethan didn't respond.
Marcus looked at him.
"She loved our daughter."
"Maybe."
"Don't."
"Maybe she did."
Ethan's voice was cold.
"But she also had orders."
Marcus backed away.
"What orders?"
"To monitor you."
"Why?"
"Because your father didn't trust you."
Marcus stared.
"Why wouldn't he trust me?"
Ethan looked directly into his eyes.
"Because you're the only Blackwell he couldn't control."
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Marcus turned away.
All his memories suddenly felt contaminated.
His wedding.
His daughter's birth.
Family dinners.
Private conversations.
Every kiss.
Every argument.
Every night.
How much had been real?
Then Marcus remembered something.
"The children."
Ethan looked at him.
"Where are they?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
"Not here."
"Then take me to them."
"I can't."
Marcus turned sharply.
"Why?"
"Because your father is watching."
The lights suddenly flickered.
Daniel looked up.
"Someone accessed the system."
A warning appeared on the main screen.
SECURITY BREACH.
Ethan moved toward the controls.
Marcus drew his weapon.
"Who?"
Daniel checked the terminal.
"Three external connections."
"From where?"
"New York."
Another warning.
"Second connection—Washington."
Another.
"Third—Los Angeles."
Marcus looked at Ethan.
"What's happening?"
Ethan's face changed.
"The Foundation is activating."
"What does that mean?"
"It means your father knows we're here."
The vault doors began closing.
Marcus looked toward the elevator.
"Move!"
They ran.
The massive steel door slammed shut behind them.
Gunfire erupted somewhere above.
Daniel stopped.
"Security teams."
Ethan looked at Marcus.
"Your people?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
"Then whose?"
Marcus listened.
The footsteps grew louder.
Organized.
Dozens of men.
Someone shouted from the corridor.
"Richard Blackwell has authorized lethal containment!"
Marcus stared at Ethan.
"Containment?"
Ethan nodded.
"We're the targets."
The vault door shook.
Once.
Twice.
Then something exploded.
Marcus fell backward.
Smoke filled the corridor.
Ethan grabbed him.
"Run!"
They raced toward the emergency tunnel.
Daniel followed.
Behind them, armed men entered the vault.
Marcus heard someone shouting.
"Find Marcus Blackwell!"
Another voice answered.
"Kill everyone else."
Marcus stopped.
"Everyone else?"
Ethan grabbed him.
"Keep moving!"
They reached a steel door.
Ethan opened it.
Beyond was a narrow tunnel.
They ran.
Five minutes later, they emerged into the cemetery.
Rain poured down.
Marcus looked back.
Smoke was rising from the mausoleum.
His father's tomb was burning.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Marcus answered.
His father's voice returned.
"You have always been my greatest disappointment."
Marcus stared into the rain.
"Where are my children?"
"Closer than you think."
"Bring them back."
"You still don't understand."
"What?"
"You aren't fighting me."
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
"Then who am I fighting?"
Richard paused.
Then said:
"Yourself."
The call ended.
Marcus lowered the phone.
Ethan stood beside him.
"What did he say?"
Marcus looked at him.
"He said I'm fighting myself."
Ethan's expression changed.
"That means he found it."
"Found what?"
Ethan whispered:
"The reason you were chosen."
Marcus frowned.
"Chosen for what?"
Before Ethan could answer, a black SUV burst through the cemetery gates.
Headlights blinded them.
The doors opened.
Thorne stepped out.
"Marcus!"
Marcus raised his weapon.
"How did you find me?"
Thorne looked at Ethan.
Then at Daniel.
Then back at Marcus.
"I followed you."
Marcus lowered his weapon slightly.
"Why?"
Thorne's expression was grim.
"Because I found something in the mansion."
He held up a small silver key.
"This was hidden inside your father's bedroom."
Marcus stared.
A symbol was engraved on it.
The same symbol he had seen inside the vault.
Ethan's face went pale.
"Where did you find that?"
"Behind a painting."
Ethan whispered:
"That's not a key."
Marcus looked at him.
"Then what is it?"
Ethan answered:
"It's an access token."
"For what?"
Ethan stared toward the burning mausoleum.
"The Foundation's master archive."
Marcus tightened his grip.
"Where is it?"
Thorne looked at him.
"Under the Blackwell hospital."
Marcus stared.
The hospital.
The place where Ethan had supposedly died.
The place where his family's secrets had begun.
May you like
And somewhere beneath it—
The truth was waiting.
