Chapter 7 - SOPHIA'S LAST SECRET
They reached the cemetery before sunrise.
Sophia's grave sat beneath an old oak tree.
Damen stood there for a long time.
Hannah watched him.
“This is the first time I've seen you afraid.”
He looked at her.
“I’m not afraid.”
“You are.”
He didn't argue.
Margaret handed him a shovel.
Damen began digging.
The ground was cold.
Wet.
Hard.
Hannah stood nearby.
After twenty minutes, the shovel struck metal.
Damen stopped.
They uncovered a small steel box.
Inside was a ledger.
Hundreds of names.
Payments.
Dates.
Hospitals.
Judges.
Police officers.
Doctors.
Politicians.
Then Hannah saw one final page.
At the top was her name.
HANNAH BROOKS.
Beside it:
STATUS — PROTECTED.
She stared.
“Protected?”
Damen turned the page.
Another note appeared.
DO NOT TOUCH HER. SHE IS THE KEY.
“Key to what?” Hannah whispered.
Margaret answered.
“The evidence.”
Damen looked at her.
Margaret explained.
“Emily discovered Black Meridian's entire operation. But the files were encrypted.”
“Why?”
“Because your father designed the encryption.”
Hannah looked at Robert.
“You?”
Robert nodded.
“The system required three pieces.”
“Which were?”
“Emily had one.”
“Sophia had another.”
“And the third?”
Robert looked at Hannah.
“You.”
Hannah felt the world tilt.
“My memory?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“The bracelet.”
Damen looked at the silver bracelet.
The tiny clasp had an unusual design.
Robert opened it.
Inside was a miniature memory chip.
Hannah stared.
“Sophia hid it there.”
“She gave it to you because she knew nobody would search you.”
Damen took the chip.
Marco connected it to the laptop.
A file opened.
Sophia appeared.
Damen stopped breathing.
His sister looked directly into the camera.
“Damen.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“If you're watching this, I'm already gone.”
He whispered:
“Sophia…”
She continued.
“I know you'll blame yourself.”
Damen closed his eyes.
“You didn't fail me.”
His face broke.
“You protected me your entire life,” Sophia said. “Now it's my turn.”
Hannah looked away.
Sophia continued.
“Victor believes he controls everything. He doesn't.”
She named several people.
One was a judge.
One was a police commissioner.
One was a hospital administrator.
Then she said:
“There is one person we could never identify.”
Damen leaned closer.
“The person above Victor.”
The screen went black.
A second file opened.
A voice spoke.
Distorted.
“We are watching.”
The file ended.
Marco looked up.
“Boss.”
Damen stared at the screen.
“What?”
“The chip has a GPS signal.”
“From where?”
Marco checked.
His expression changed.
“Somewhere inside the city.”
Hannah looked at Damen.
“Someone wants us to find them.”
“No.”
Damen shook his head.
“Someone wants us to think they want us to find them.”
Then the cemetery gates opened.
Cars entered.
Victor stepped out.
Behind him stood a dozen men.
Damen raised his weapon.
Victor smiled.
“You always were stubborn.”
Damen stepped forward.
“You killed Sophia.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“She was already dead the moment she chose the wrong side.”
Hannah's voice shook.
“You tried to kill my sister.”
Victor looked at her.
“No.”
He smiled.
“I tried to save your sister.”
Hannah stared.
“What?”
Victor pointed toward the ledger.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“Black Meridian isn't my organization.”
Damen froze.
Victor looked directly at him.
“Your father created it.”
Damen's face went blank.
“My father died twenty-three years ago.”
Victor smiled.
“Exactly.”
He raised his hands.
“Ask yourself why a dying man would leave his empire to a sixteen-year-old boy.”
Damen's blood turned cold.
May you like
Because maybe his father hadn't died unexpectedly.
Maybe everything Damen believed about his family was a lie.
