Chapter 6: The Marriage Was Never an Accident
We drove for nearly forty minutes before Ethan finally told me to stop.
I pulled into an abandoned gas station outside the city.
Rain hammered the roof.
The sign above the pumps flickered between ON and OFF.
Nobody moved.
I turned toward Ethan.
“Talk.””
He looked at Abigail.
“Not here.””
I slammed my palm against the steering wheel.
“My daughter was beaten, imprisoned, drugged, and threatened.””
Nicholas flinched.
“And now you're telling me her marriage was planned?””
Ethan nodded.
“Yes.””
“By whom?””
He stared through the windshield.
“The same person who signed the order that ended your unit.””
My blood went cold.
“Name.””
Ethan hesitated.
“General Marcus Hale.””
I knew the name.
Everyone in military intelligence knew the name.
Hale had been a senior commander.
Highly decorated.
Untouchable.
He had testified before Congress.
He had received national awards.
And four years ago, he had overseen the investigation into my missing soldiers.
I whispered, “Hale is retired.””
“He was.””
I looked at Ethan.
“Was?””
“He isn't anymore.””
Nicholas leaned forward.
“My father told me Hale died.””
“Your father lied.””
Ethan looked at him.
“Your entire family has been lying.””
Nicholas lowered his head.
“I know.””
Gregory finally spoke.
“You're all acting like I knew about this.””
I turned toward him.
“You've been protecting them.””
“I was protecting my family.””
“From what?””
He looked at Abigail.
“From people who make families disappear.””
I stared at him.
“Then why did you hurt her?””
Gregory's face changed.
“I didn't.””
Abigail whispered,
“You held me down.””
He looked at her.
“I held you down because you were trying to break the window.””
“You locked me in the house.””
“Yes.””
“You took my phone.””
“Yes.””
“You threatened me.””
Gregory closed his eyes.
“I was trying to stop you from finding the records.””
“Why?””
“Because I knew what would happen if you did.””
I leaned closer.
“You could have called the police.””
He laughed bitterly.
“The police?””
He looked at me.
“You still don't understand.””
He pointed toward Nicholas.
“He tried to get you help.””
Nicholas looked at his brother.
“Don't.””
Gregory continued.
“He contacted someone outside the family.””
Nicholas's jaw tightened.
“Stop talking.””
“Who?”” I asked.
Gregory stared at Nicholas.
“Nicholas contacted the FBI.””
My head snapped toward him.
“Is that true?””
Nicholas nodded.
“Six weeks ago.””
“Why didn't they come?””
“They did.””
“When?””
“Two agents came to the house.””
“What happened?””
“They never left.””
Silence filled the car.
Abigail whispered,
“What do you mean?””
Nicholas looked at her.
“I found their badges in the basement.””
I stared at him.
“You knew?””
“I didn't know what to do.””
“You could have told me.””
“I didn't know if you were part of it.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
“Me?””
He shook his head quickly.
“Not willingly.””
Ethan looked at Nicholas.
“You were right to be suspicious.””
I turned.
“What does that mean?””
Ethan reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small envelope.
My name was written across it.
*COLONEL RACHEL GARDNER — PERSONAL*
I took it.
The paper was old.
The seal had been broken.
Inside was a photograph.
I recognized the location immediately.
A military base.
Four years earlier.
There I was.
Standing beside six soldiers.
Daniel Price.
Marcus Bell.
Tyler Shaw.
Aaron Lewis.
Michael Torres.
And Ethan Ferguson.
But there was something wrong.
I counted again.
Six.
Ethan was there.
So why had the Army said Ethan had died before the operation?
I looked at him.
“You weren't on the official roster.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because I wasn't supposed to exist.””
“What does that mean?””
He leaned back.
“I was working undercover.””
My head spun.
“You were intelligence?””
“Yes.””
“For whom?””
“Not the Army.””
“Then who?””
Ethan stared at me.
“The people who were investigating Hale.””
I looked at the photograph.
“Why were you with my unit?””
“To protect you.””
I laughed once.
It wasn't funny.
“You failed.””
“Yes.””
He accepted it without argument.
“That night, someone betrayed the operation.””
“Who?””
“We never found out.””
I looked at Nicholas.
He was staring at the floor.
Then Abigail spoke.
“Mom.””
I turned.
She was looking at the photograph.
“There are seven people.””
I frowned.
“What?””
She pointed.
Behind the six soldiers stood a seventh figure.
A man in civilian clothes.
His face was partially hidden.
I zoomed in using my phone.
Then froze.
I knew him.
Dr. Adrian Voss.
The same man whose voice I had remembered from the hospital attack.
The same man who had worked as a civilian consultant during the investigation.
Ethan saw my expression.
“You recognize him.””
“Yes.””
“Then you know why you're in danger.””
I stared at the photograph.
“What did Voss have to do with the operation?””
Ethan answered quietly.
“He wasn't a consultant.””
“Then what was he?””
“An intermediary.””
“For Hale?””
“Yes.””
Nicholas suddenly spoke.
“He's the one who chose Abigail.””
I turned.
“How do you know?””
“Nicholas heard him talking to my father,” Gregory said.
Nicholas glared at him.
But it was too late.
I looked at Nicholas.
“Tell me.””
He swallowed.
“Voss said Abigail was perfect.””
“Perfect for what?””
“I don't know.””
“You married her anyway.””
“I was ordered to.””
Abigail stared at him.
“What?””
Nicholas's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know they would hurt you.””
She shook her head.
“You married me because someone ordered you to?””
“Yes.””
Her face crumpled.
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I asked,
“When?””
“Before we met.””
“Who gave the order?””
“Nobody gave it directly.””
He looked at Ethan.
“They sent me a photograph.””
“Of Abigail?””
“Yes.””
“Why her?””
Nicholas hesitated.
“Because of your mother.””
Abigail looked at me.
“Mom?””
I couldn't speak.
Nicholas continued.
“They said if I married Abigail, you would eventually come looking.””
My heart sank.
“So the marriage was bait.””
“Yes.””
“And tonight?””
Nicholas nodded.
“They knew Abigail had found the ledger.””
Gregory whispered,
“And they knew Colonel Gardner would come for her.””
Ethan stared at me.
“They needed you back in the game.””
I felt the pieces falling into place.
The marriage.
The injuries.
The ledger.
The hospital attack.
My name in a four-year-old file.
They hadn't reacted to Abigail's escape.
They had planned for it.
They had wanted her to call me.
They had wanted me to walk through that hospital door.
My phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
An encrypted military channel.
Impossible.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered,
“Colonel Gardner?””
“Yes.””
“Do you remember Operation Black Lantern?””
My chest tightened.
“Who is this?””
“Someone who survived it.””
“Where are you?””
“Not where you think.””
“Give me your location.””
“I can't.””
“Then give me a name.””
Silence.
Then:
“Daniel Price.””
My breath caught.
“Daniel is dead.””
“No.””
The woman's voice trembled.
“He's alive.””
I closed my eyes.
“Where?””
“Underground.””
“Where underground?””
A pause.
Then she whispered,
“Beneath the Ferguson estate.””
The line went dead.
Abigail stared at me.
“Mom?””
I looked at Ethan.
He already understood.
Nicholas was shaking.
Gregory whispered,
“No.””
I started the engine.
Ethan grabbed my arm.
“Rachel, wait.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
His face was grim.
“Because if Daniel is alive…”
He glanced toward the road.
“…then someone has been keeping six soldiers hidden for four years.””
I put the car into gear.
“And now we're going to find them.””
My phone buzzed one final time.
A photograph appeared.
A basement.
Six steel doors.
Five of them closed.
One standing open.
May you like
And written across the concrete wall in fresh red paint were three words:
*ONE SOLDIER TALKED.*
