Chapter 8 - THE NIGHT THE FAMILY FELL
The plan was simple.
Release the archive.
Expose every name.
Destroy the network.
Save the child.
But there was one problem.
The archive could only be released through the Mercer trust.
And the trust required Ethan's daughter's authorization.
They found the facility at midnight.
Federal agents surrounded the building.
Ethan entered first.
Daniel beside him.
Lena behind them.
His mother stayed in the command vehicle.
Inside, alarms screamed.
Then a voice came over the speakers.
“You came.”
Ethan looked up.
His father stood on the balcony.
The little girl was beside him.
“Daddy!”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Let her go.”
His father smiled.
“You still think you can negotiate.”
“I'll give you the trust.”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
“Your silence.”
Ethan laughed.
“Never.”
His father raised a remote.
“Then she dies.”
Lena screamed.
“Don't!”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Wait.”
His father smiled.
“Smart.”
Daniel whispered:
“Ethan, don't.”
Ethan looked at his daughter.
She was holding the red bucket.
Then he noticed something.
She was tapping the bucket three times.
A signal.
Something Lena had taught her.
Ethan understood.
She wasn't alone.
He looked toward the cameras.
His mother was already hacking the system.
“Now.”
The lights went out.
Federal agents stormed the room.
Daniel reached the child first.
He pulled her away.
Ethan confronted his father.
“You're finished.”
His father raised his hands.
“You think arresting me ends this?”
“No.”
Ethan looked toward the screens.
“Because everyone is watching.”
The archive began broadcasting.
Names appeared.
Bank accounts.
Secret payments.
Illegal operations.
The country watched.
His father's face collapsed.
“You don't know what you've done.”
“Yes.”
Ethan stared at him.
“I ended the family business.”
His father laughed.
“You'll never understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“You destroyed your inheritance.”
“No.”
Ethan looked at his daughter.
“I saved hers.”
Federal agents arrested his father.
Then the lights returned.
Lena ran toward their daughter.
Ethan held both of them.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Then Daniel noticed a final file.
“Ethan.”
“What?”
“There is another account.”
“Whose?”
Daniel opened it.
The name appeared.
LENA MERCER.
Lena's face went pale.
“What is that?”
Ethan looked at her.
“You tell me.”
She shook her head.
“I've never seen it.”
The file opened automatically.
A video appeared.
Lena from five years ago.
She was crying.
She looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, something went wrong.”
Ethan froze.
The recorded Lena continued.
“Ethan, there is something I never told you.”
She looked terrified.
“The child isn't the only thing I was protecting.”
The video stopped.
A second file appeared.
PROJECT: GHOST FAMILY.
Daniel whispered:
“What is that?”
Lena stared at the screen.
“I don't know.”
May you like
Then the file displayed one final sentence.
SUBJECT ONE: ETHAN MERCER.
