Chapter 8 - THE MOTHER BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Nobody moved.
The timestamp remained on the screen.
Six days ago.
Arthur stared at it as though the world had shifted beneath his feet.
“That's impossible.”
Clara stepped closer.
“Mom is alive.”
Elena appeared again.
“Arthur, if you're watching this, don't come looking for me.”
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
“I already failed you once.”
The recording continued.
“You didn't fail me.”
Elena looked directly into the camera.
“You protected Clara.”
Then she revealed the final secret.
The Nightglass network had been searching for a document called the Founder List.
It contained every government official, corporate executive, judge, intelligence officer, and political donor who had ever belonged to the organization.
But the Founder List wasn't stored on a computer.
It wasn't hidden in a vault.
It was encoded into the memories of one person.
Clara.
She was nine when her mother began teaching her a series of childhood songs.
Clara suddenly remembered.
A melody.
A nursery rhyme her mother used to sing every night.
The words had always seemed meaningless.
But Elena had changed certain notes.
Those notes were coordinates.
Names.
Dates.
Bank accounts.
Everything.
Clara began crying.
“I remember.”
Arthur stared at her.
“What?”
“The song.”
She whispered the first few words.
The commander's face changed.
“That sequence…”
He immediately pulled out a secure tablet.
“It's an encryption key.”
Elena's recording continued.
“I couldn't trust anyone.”
“Not Arthur.”
“Not the government.”
“Not even myself.”
Clara looked confused.
Then Elena said the words that shattered her.
“Clara, your father doesn't know the whole truth.”
Arthur looked at the screen.
“What did you hide from me?”
Elena answered:
“The person who ordered Nightglass was never Nathaniel Hale.”
A second video appeared.
A man stood beside Elena.
Clara recognized him.
The current Secretary of Defense.
The commander stared in disbelief.
“No.”
Arthur whispered:
“He was a junior officer.”
Elena continued.
“He took the evidence.”
“He manipulated the investigation.”
“He ordered the deaths.”
“And he has spent thirty years becoming the most powerful man in Washington.”
Clara's blood ran cold.
The commander immediately reached for his phone.
But it was too late.
Every government communication channel suddenly went dark.
Then a message appeared on every screen.
NIGHTGLASS HAS BEEN ACTIVATED.
Outside, military helicopters filled the sky.
Arthur looked at Clara.
“We're out of time.”
Then another message appeared.
GENERAL VANCE — SURRENDER YOUR DAUGHTER.
Arthur stepped in front of Clara.
“No.”
The mansion doors exploded inward.
Armed federal agents stormed the room.
But they weren't there to rescue them.
They pointed their weapons at Arthur.
“General Vance.”
The commander raised his weapon.
“Drop yours.”
Clara looked around in horror.
“Why are they arresting us?”
Arthur slowly lowered his gun.
Then he smiled.
A strange, calm smile.
“They're not.”
He looked at Clara.
“They're here because we found the traitor.”
The commander suddenly turned his weapon toward the agents.
“Federal Special Operations!”
Gunfire erupted.
May you like
The war Arthur had spent thirty years trying to prevent...
had finally begun.
