Chapter 12: The Dead Man’s Secret
Nobody believed me at first.
Not even me.
“My father is dead.””
Price looked at the phone.
“We need to verify.””
“You don’t understand.””
My hands trembled.
“I was there.””
My mother closed her eyes.
“Audrey.””
“No.””
I looked at her.
“You knew something.””
Her silence answered before words could.
“What did you know?””
My mother looked away.
“Mom.””
Finally, she sat down.
“Your father wasn’t killed in an accident.””
The room went silent.
I felt like the floor disappeared.
“What?””
“He was investigating procurement corruption.””
“Sentinel?””
“Before it was called Sentinel.””
I stared at her.
“You told me his helicopter crashed.””
“That was what the official report said.””
“And you believed it?””
Her eyes filled.
“No.””
The pain in her voice was real.
“But I couldn’t prove otherwise.””
Price stepped forward.
“General, why hide this?””
“Because Audrey was sixteen.””
I froze.
“You knew someone killed him.””
“I suspected.””
“And you let me grow up thinking he just died?””
My mother looked broken.
“I wanted you to have a normal life.””
I laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“And instead I married a man working for the people who killed him.””
Nobody spoke.
The hidden phone rang again.
Everyone froze.
This time Price answered.
“Who is this?””
The voice returned.
“Put Audrey on.””
Price looked at me.
I took the phone.
“Why are you doing this?””
A pause.
Then:
“Because you deserve the truth.””
“Who are you?””
“You know.””
“No.””
The voice softened.
“I watched you graduate.””
My breath stopped.
“I watched you become an officer.””
My fingers tightened.
“I watched you marry Grant.””
The room went cold.
“You were there?””
“Yes.””
“Who are you?””
Another pause.
Then:
“Your father.””
I almost dropped the phone.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
The voice shook slightly.
“What was impossible was believing I died.””
My mother stepped closer.
“Ask him about the river.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“Ask him.””
I lifted the phone.
“My mother says ask about the river.””
Silence.
Then the voice answered.
“Your seventh birthday.””
My eyes widened.
“You fell into the river behind Grandpa’s house.””
I stopped breathing.
“Nobody knew.””
“I knew.””
“You saved me.””
“Yes.””
I remembered.
A hand pulling me from the water.
A voice saying:
“Never be afraid of deep water, Audrey. Be afraid of people who pretend the water is shallow.””
A phrase I had never forgotten.
My knees weakened.
“Dad?””
My mother covered her mouth.
The voice became emotional.
“I’m sorry.””
“Why did you leave?””
“I didn’t.””
“Then why?””
“Because the people who killed my identity were the same people threatening you now.””
“Who?””
Silence.
Then:
“Your grandfather.””
My blood went cold.
“William?””
“No.””
A pause.
“Your grandfather on your mother’s side.””
I looked at Mom.
She went pale.
“No.””
The voice continued.
“Your mother knows.””
Mom whispered:
“Stop.””
The phone slipped slightly in my hand.
“What is he talking about?””
Nobody answered.
Then my father said:
“Rebecca never told you because she thought she was protecting you.””
I looked at my mother.
“Protecting me from what?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Your father discovered the truth about my family.””
I couldn’t move.
“My family?””
She nodded slowly.
“The first Sentinel network was created by my father.””
The room went silent.
Price looked stunned.
“You mean—”
“Yes.””
My mother’s voice broke.
“My family started it.””
The phone crackled.
My father spoke one final sentence.
“And now Audrey has inherited the command that can destroy it.””
The call ended.
At that exact moment, every computer screen in the facility turned on.
A message appeared.
Not from Sentinel.
Not from William.
Not from Keane.
From an unknown sender.
*WELCOME BACK, AUDREY.*
May you like
Then another line appeared.
*YOUR FATHER HAS BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO CHOOSE A SIDE.*
