Chapter 13: My Father’s Last Order
“Choose a side?””
I read the message again.
My father was alive.
My mother’s family had created Sentinel.
And somewhere, Sarah Whitmore was still being held at gunpoint.
I was done with riddles.
I grabbed the hidden phone.
“Trace every connection this device has made.””
The technician nodded.
Price stepped beside me.
“And if your father calls?””
“I keep him talking.””
My mother stared at the screen.
“Audrey, there are things you still don’t understand.””
“Then stop protecting me with secrets.””
The words hit her hard.
Good.
I loved my mother.
But love did not excuse deception.
“Tell me about your father.””
She lowered herself into a chair.
“General Arthur Mercer.””
I knew the name.
Every officer did.
A decorated Cold War-era commander.
Dead for almost twenty years.
“He created a network inside military procurement,” Mom said.
“At first, he claimed it was necessary. Favors. Informal channels. Moving contracts quickly.””
“And then?””
“Money entered the system.””
Price folded his arms.
“Bribery.””
“Yes.””
“Blackmail?””
“Yes.””
“Disappearances?””
My mother looked at Marcus.
“Eventually.””
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“So Sentinel outlived Arthur Mercer.””
“It became larger than him.””
“And Audrey’s father discovered it?””
Mom nodded.
“David found financial records linking senior officers to my father’s network. He wanted to expose everything.””
“What did you want?””
“I was afraid.””
Her answer surprised me.
Not because she had been afraid.
Because she admitted it.
“I had Audrey. David was being followed. People were threatening us.””
“So you let him fake his death?””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“I believed he died.””
The hidden phone rang.
I answered immediately.
“Dad?””
“Yes.””
“Where is Sarah?””
A pause.
“Safe for now.””
Rage exploded through me.
“You have her.””
“I’m protecting her.””
“With a gun against her head?””
“That wasn’t my order.””
“Then whose was it?””
Silence.
“Dad.””
“Things changed.””
“No more riddles.””
My voice echoed through the room.
“You disappeared for eleven years. You watched me marry Grant. You watched him work for Sentinel. You watched people follow me while I was pregnant.””
“I kept you alive.””
“You left me alone.””
The words came out before I could stop them.
Silence followed.
When my father answered, his voice was softer.
“I know.””
I swallowed.
“Where are you?””
“I can’t tell you.””
“Then I’m ending this call.””
“Audrey—”
“Sarah’s location. Now.””
“You sound like your mother.””
“That’s not an insult.””
Mom looked at me.
My father almost laughed.
Then his tone changed.
“There’s an underground records vault beneath the original Sentinel headquarters.””
“Where?””
“Building 17 at Fort Westbridge.””
Price immediately began typing.
“What’s inside?”” I asked.
“The master archive.””
“Evidence?””
“Enough to destroy Sentinel permanently.””
“Why haven’t you released it?””
“Because the archive also contains intelligence records that cannot become public.””
“So give it to investigators.””
“I don’t know who to trust.””
I looked around the room.
Everyone had used that sentence.
Grant.
Marcus.
My father.
Fear had kept Sentinel alive because nobody trusted anyone enough to expose it.
“I know who I trust,” I said.
“Who?””
“The evidence.””
My father went silent.
“Send me access.””
“Audrey, listen—”
“Send it.””
A message arrived.
Coordinates.
Price checked them.
“Fort Westbridge.””
Then another message.
A twelve-digit code.
My father said, “That opens the first vault.””
“First?””
“There are two.””
“What opens the second?””
“You.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“You’ll understand.””
The call ended.
Fort Westbridge had been partially decommissioned eight years earlier.
Building 17 stood behind two abandoned warehouses.
We arrived with investigators, military police, and a digital forensics team.
No ceremony.
No speeches.
Just concrete, dust, and old fluorescent lights.
We found the underground door beneath a steel maintenance hatch.
I entered the code.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a corridor leading to another vault.
No keypad.
A biometric scanner.
Price looked at me.
“Your father meant literally.””
I placed my palm against it.
Nothing.
Then a message appeared.
*SECOND FACTOR REQUIRED.*
“What second factor?””
My mother stepped forward.
“Maybe me.””
She placed her hand beside mine.
The scanner flashed red.
Denied.
Then I felt my daughter move.
A strange thought hit me.
“No.””
Price looked at me.
“What?””
I examined the scanner.
A small medical symbol appeared beneath the biometric icon.
My stomach tightened.
“They stole my prenatal records.””
Price understood.
“Blood authentication.””
A sterile lancet sat sealed beside the panel.
My mother shook her head.
“Audrey, wait.””
“This is why they tracked my blood type.””
I pressed my finger to the scanner.
A drop of blood touched the sensor.
Green.
The vault opened.
Rows of servers illuminated one by one.
Then a monitor activated.
My father appeared live.
Older.
Gray-haired.
But unmistakably him.
“Hi, sweetheart.””
My knees nearly gave out.
“Dad.””
His eyes filled.
“You look just like your mother.””
I stepped toward the screen.
“Where are you?””
“Close.””
“Come out.””
“I can’t.””
“Why?””
His expression changed.
“Because opening that vault triggered Sentinel’s final protocol.””
Alarms screamed.
Red lights began flashing.
Price shouted.
“What protocol?””
May you like
My father looked directly at me.
“The one that kills everyone who knows the truth.””
