Chapter 8: The Truth Underneath
The explosion shook the entire building.
Metal screamed.
Glass shattered.
The floor jumped beneath my boots.
Jonathan disappeared into smoke.
“Jonathan!””
I ran toward him.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“Wait!””
Another explosion rocked the warehouse.
A section of ceiling collapsed between us and Avery's men.
Sparks rained down.
Someone screamed.
Then gunfire erupted.
Daniel pulled me behind a concrete support.
“Stay down!””
“Where's my son?””
“I'm finding him.””
He disappeared into the smoke.
I crouched low.
The air smelled of burning insulation and gunpowder.
A figure stumbled through the haze.
I raised my weapon.
“Stop!””
The figure froze.
Then I recognized him.
Jonathan.
He wasn't tied anymore.
Blood ran from a cut near his temple.
“Mom.””
I crossed the distance between us and pulled him into my arms.
For a moment, he was a little boy.
My little boy.
The baby I had kissed goodbye before giving him to people who promised he would be safe.
Then he was thirty-something again.
A soldier.
A stranger.
My son.
“You're real,” I whispered.
He gave a broken laugh.
“So are you.””
I touched his face.
“Why didn't you find me?””
“I tried.””
“You could have come home.””
“I couldn't.””
“Why?””
He looked past me.
“Because they were watching you.””
Daniel appeared through the smoke.
“We have about two minutes.””
Jonathan shook his head.
“No.””
“What?””
“We have less than that.””
He pointed beneath the warehouse.
“They've activated the failsafe.””
Daniel swore.
“What failsafe?””
Jonathan looked at me.
“The archive isn't documents.””
I frowned.
“Then what is it?””
“A server.””
He pulled a small drive from inside his jacket.
“The original Silver Harbor records were never destroyed. They're encrypted and stored beneath this building.””
Avery's voice echoed through the smoke.
“You should have stayed away, Jonathan.””
My son looked up.
“I'm done running.””
Avery stepped into view.
Two armed men stood beside him.
He pointed toward Jonathan.
“Give me the drive.””
Jonathan held it up.
“No.””
Avery smiled.
“You really are your mother's son.””
I stepped forward.
“Let him go.””
“You don't understand, Rachel.””
“I understand enough.””
“You were never supposed to survive Silver Harbor.””
“And neither were you.””
Avery's face hardened.
“You think this is about money?””
I said nothing.
He laughed.
“The Ferguson family is merely one branch.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Who is above them?””
Avery smiled.
“You still think there is one person at the top.””
Jonathan whispered, “There isn't.””
Avery turned.
Jonathan continued.
“It's a network.””
My stomach dropped.
“How many?””
“Too many,” Jonathan said.
Avery raised his weapon.
Daniel fired first.
The shot struck the weapon from Avery's hand.
Chaos erupted.
Jonathan grabbed me.
“Mom, move!””
We ran.
Daniel covered us as we reached a steel staircase leading underground.
“Where does this go?”” I asked.
Jonathan answered.
“The archive.””
We descended.
The stairs seemed endless.
At the bottom was a reinforced door.
Jonathan inserted the drive.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
“What?””
“It needs your biometric authorization.””
“My what?””
Jonathan looked at me.
“Yours.””
I stared at him.
“You're kidding.””
“No.””
He pointed to a scanner.
“Your original Silver Harbor clearance is encoded in your fingerprints.””
I placed my hand against the scanner.
A red light appeared.
*ACCESS DENIED.*
Jonathan swore.
“Mom, try your left hand.””
I did.
Nothing.
Daniel came down the stairs.
“Avery is coming.””
Jonathan looked at the scanner.
“Wait.””
He took my hand.
“Your injury.””
“What?””
“The scar.””
He turned my palm over.
A thin scar crossed the base of my thumb.
Jonathan pressed it against the scanner.
Green light.
*ACCESS GRANTED.*
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with servers.
Hundreds of tiny lights blinked in the darkness.
Jonathan stared.
“We found it.””
Daniel walked toward the central terminal.
“Copy everything.””
Jonathan connected the drive.
Files began appearing.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Military operations.
Politicians.
Judges.
Corporate executives.
And then I saw something that made my knees weaken.
*GARDNER, RACHEL — ASSET STATUS: ACTIVE.*
I stared at the screen.
“Asset?””
Daniel's face changed.
Jonathan looked at him.
“You knew.””
Daniel didn't answer.
I turned.
“Daniel.””
He swallowed.
“There are things I never told you.””
“Apparently.””
The screen refreshed.
Another file appeared.
*GARDNER, RACHEL — CHILD TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION.*
I couldn't breathe.
Jonathan stared at the words.
“Mom?””
I clicked the file.
A scanned document appeared.
My signature was at the bottom.
Below it:
*TRANSFER OF MINOR MALE — JONATHAN GARDNER.*
But beneath my signature was another name.
*THOMAS AVERY.*
I stepped backward.
“I never signed this.””
Jonathan looked at Daniel.
“Then who did?””
Daniel whispered:
“Your mother was unconscious.””
I looked at him.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you let me believe I gave my son away?””
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
My voice cracked.
“You let me mourn him.””
“I know.””
“You let me think I abandoned him.””
“I know.””
Jonathan stepped between us.
“Mom.””
I looked at him.
He was crying.
“I never hated you.””
That broke something inside me.
I reached for him.
He hugged me.
And for the first time in fifteen years, I held my son.
Then the server alarm began screaming.
Daniel looked at the terminal.
“Someone is deleting the files.””
Jonathan spun around.
“No.””
He rushed to the console.
“It's coming from outside.””
I heard footsteps above us.
Avery.
And someone else.
A woman's voice echoed through the stairwell.
“Rachel.””
I froze.
Patricia Ferguson appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
She wasn't alone.
Nicholas stood behind her.
He held a gun.
Patricia smiled.
“You've finally found the truth.””
I moved in front of Abigail's brother.
“Where is my daughter?””
Nicholas smiled.
“Exactly where you left her.””
My blood ran cold.
Patricia raised her phone.
A live video appeared.
Abigail was sitting alone in the hospital room.
A man stood behind her.
Nicholas looked at the screen.
“Give us the archive.””
I stared at him.
“You married my daughter for this.””
“No,” Patricia said.
She looked at me.
“We married your daughter because *she was the only person who could lead us to you.*”
May you like
Then Abigail's hospital monitor began screaming.
And the screen went black.
