Chapter 7: What Ethan Hid From Me
Ghost barked again.
The sound seemed to shake the walls.
Daniel Reed stared at the painting as if he had just seen a ghost all over again.
Hayes moved toward it.
“Back up,” he ordered.
Daniel didn’t move.
“Reed.””
“I know what’s behind there.””
That made all three of us stop.
I looked at him.
“You said you didn’t know.””
“I said I didn’t expect Ghost to find it.””
Hayes reached for the edge of the painting.
Daniel caught his wrist.
“You open that, and there’s no going back.””
Hayes pulled free.
“There hasn’t been a way back for seven years.””
He tore the painting from the wall.
Behind it was a narrow metal panel.
No handle.
No keyhole.
Just a small circular indentation.
Ghost walked forward.
He pressed his nose against it.
The metal clicked.
The panel opened.
I stared.
Inside was a black case.
Small enough to carry with one hand.
Ghost sat beside it.
Waiting.
I stepped closer.
“What is that?””
Daniel’s face had gone pale.
“Evidence.””
“Evidence of what?””
He looked at me.
“Everything.””
Hayes opened the case.
Inside were photographs, encrypted drives, two military identification cards, and a stack of handwritten notes.
On top was a photograph.
I picked it up.
My hands started shaking.
It showed our original team from seven years ago.
Ethan stood near the center.
Ghost was at his side.
And I was standing beside them.
But that wasn’t what made my stomach drop.
Someone had circled my face in red.
Underneath it, someone had written:
PRIMARY ASSET.
I looked at Hayes.
“Why was I an asset?””
He stared at the picture.
“I never knew.””
Daniel said nothing.
I turned toward him.
“You did.””
He swallowed.
“Yes.””
Rage burned through me.
“You knew this existed.””
“Yes.””
“You knew Ethan disappeared because of it.””
“Yes.””
“And you still let me spend seven years believing he was dead.””
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“You think we had a choice?””
“I think you had seven years to tell me the truth.””
“You were being watched.””
“By who?””
“Everyone.””
He pointed at the photograph.
“That team wasn’t what you thought it was.””
I looked down again.
Ethan.
Ghost.
Me.
Six other soldiers.
One by one, familiar faces.
I remembered them.
People I had trusted.
People who had attended the memorial service.
Then I noticed something strange.
One name was missing.
Mine.
The others had names printed underneath their photographs.
Mine had nothing.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel looked at me.
“It means your identity was protected.””
“From whom?””
“From the people who were using you.””
I felt dizzy.
Hayes took one of the documents from the case.
His eyes moved rapidly across the page.
“This is a transfer authorization.””
“What kind?””
He looked at me.
“For Ghost.””
I frowned.
“He was assigned to Ethan.””
“Not originally.””
Hayes turned the paper toward me.
The date was two years before Black Hollow.
The assigned handler listed underneath was someone else.
Daniel.
I looked at him.
“You were Ghost’s first handler?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did Ethan have him?””
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Because Ghost stopped obeying me.””
I looked at the dog.
“Why?””
Daniel gave a bitter smile.
“Because Ethan was better.””
There was something almost affectionate in the way he said it.
Then he reached into the case and pulled out another photograph.
This one was recent.
Three months old.
Ethan.
Alive.
Standing beside a woman I had never seen before.
Behind them was a building.
I looked closer.
A hospital.
“Where is this?””
Daniel shook his head.
“You don’t want to know.””
“Yes, I do.””
“It’s in Colorado.””
Hayes looked at him sharply.
“What facility?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then the front windows exploded.
Glass filled the room.
Hayes tackled me to the floor.
Gunfire ripped through the walls.
Ghost lunged toward me.
Daniel rolled behind a table.
Someone outside shouted.
“Secure the doctor!””
My heart stopped.
Not Ghost.
Not the case.
Me.
They were here for me.
Hayes fired toward the window.
“Madison, move!””
I grabbed the black case.
Ghost seized my sleeve and pulled me toward the hallway.
Daniel shouted after us.
“Don’t go to the front!””
“Then where?””
His eyes locked on mine.
“The basement.””
I stared at him.
“There’s no basement.””
Daniel shook his head.
“There is now.””
Ghost was already scratching at the floor.
And beneath his paws, I heard a hollow sound.
Not wood.
May you like
Metal.
Something had been hidden underneath us all along.
