Chapter 6 - The LedgerRichard's blood was real.
Daniel saw it.
Smelled it.
Felt it beneath his hand.
But there was no body.
Evan insisted they leave before the police arrived.
Daniel refused.
“I'm not leaving my father here.”
“He may not be here.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“Blood doesn't prove death.”
“You saw him get shot.”
“I saw him fall.”
Daniel looked at the floor.
No body.
No bullet casing near him.
No trail.
It was another performance.
Another staged disappearance.
Someone was controlling the scene.
Again.
Back at the house, Daniel inserted the flash drive into an isolated laptop.
The files opened.
Hundreds of transactions.
Thousands of names.
Shell companies.
Bank transfers.
Encrypted messages.
Then he found a folder marked:
PROJECT ECHO
Inside were photographs of people.
Daniel recognized some from his father's company.
Some were dead.
Some had disappeared.
One name stopped him.
VANESSA STELLAN
Daniel opened the file.
Her real name was listed as Vanessa Vale.
Under occupation:
FIELD ASSET
Daniel sat motionless.
The report detailed her recruitment.
Her assignment.
Her marriage to Daniel.
But one section had been heavily redacted.
Evan read the visible portion aloud.
“Objective: locate Echo Key through Daniel Stellan.”
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
She was sitting across the room.
“So that's why you married me.”
“I did.”
“No excuses?”
“None.”
“Did you ever love me?”
Vanessa stared at him.
“Yes.”
Daniel laughed once.
“That makes this worse.”
“I know.”
“Did you marry me because you were ordered to?”
“Yes.”
“And Lily?”
Vanessa looked toward the baby monitor.
“I love her.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you let her suffer today?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Because I needed you angry.”
Daniel stared.
“You staged the cake.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed it.”
“Yes.”
“You frightened Lily.”
“I never touched her.”
“Then who was the man upstairs?”
Vanessa looked at Evan.
“I don't know.”
That answer sounded different.
Genuine.
Daniel leaned forward.
“Then what were you trying to make me do?”
“Open the vault.”
“With the key?”
“Yes.”
“You could have asked.”
“They would have killed me.”
“Who?”
“Orpheus.”
Evan interrupted.
“Or one of your handlers.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You still think I work for them.”
“You do.”
“I used to.”
“Difference?”
“I stopped.”
“When?”
Vanessa looked at Daniel.
“When Lily was born.”
Daniel felt something shift.
For the first time, her story made sense.
Not enough to trust her.
But enough to hear it.
She continued.
“I was ordered to monitor your father’s house. But Richard discovered me.”
“He knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't he expose you?”
“Because he offered me a deal.”
“What deal?”
“Protect his son.”
Daniel stared.
“He knew you were watching me.”
“He knew everything.”
“Then why did he let you marry me?”
Vanessa's voice dropped.
“Because he believed I was the only person close enough to stop them from taking you.”
Daniel looked at the ledger.
“And what is Echo?”
Neither Vanessa nor Evan answered.
Daniel opened another file.
A photograph appeared.
A young Daniel standing beside his father.
On the back:
ECHO SUBJECT IS NOT DANIEL.
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Evan took the laptop.
He opened a hidden file.
Inside was a birth record.
Not Daniel's.
Lily's.
Daniel stared.
Her biological records had been altered.
The listed hospital was wrong.
The date was wrong.
And beneath the birth certificate was a handwritten note.
The child carries the genetic key.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
“What is a genetic key?”
Vanessa stood abruptly.
“I knew it.”
Evan turned toward her.
“What?”
“You were never the target.”
Vanessa looked at Daniel.
“Lily was.”
A sound came from the hallway.
A small footstep.
Then another.
Daniel looked up.
Lily appeared at the doorway.
Her eyes were wide.
She held something in her hand.
A tiny brass key.
“Daddy,” she whispered.
“I found this in Mommy's room.”
Daniel slowly walked toward her.
The key had a symbol engraved on it.
A black circle surrounding the letter E.
Evan looked at it.
His face changed.
“That isn't a key.”
Daniel stared.
“What is it?”
Evan whispered:
“It's an access token.”
Then the house alarm began screaming.
Every door locked automatically.
May you like
And a voice came over the speakers.
“Echo protocol initiated.”
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