CHAPTER 9 THE VOICE OF THE DEAD
“Nathan…”
The voice came again.
Soft.
Almost fragile.
But unmistakable.
Nathan stopped breathing.
His mother.
His mother had been dead for twenty years.
Yet her voice had just echoed through the vault.
Grace stared at him.
“Nathan?”
He didn't answer.
He slowly turned toward the speakers hidden inside the walls.
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then a faint crackle.
“Nathan, if you can hear me…”
His eyes filled with tears.
“…do not trust your father.”
Richard closed his eyes.
Nathan turned toward him.
“You knew.”
Richard shook his head.
“I didn't know she recorded this.”
“You knew she was alive.”
“Not now.”
“You knew.”
Richard looked at his son.
“I knew she survived longer than we were told.”
Nathan's face hardened.
“How long?”
Richard remained silent.
Nathan stepped toward him.
“How long?”
“Three years.”
Nathan's voice cracked.
“You let me believe she died when I was twelve.”
“I was ordered to.”
“You were her husband.”
“I was afraid.”
“You were my father!”
Nathan shoved him backward.
“You should have told me!”
Richard stumbled.
Grace grabbed Nathan's arm.
“Nathan.”
He pulled away.
“No.”
He pointed at Richard.
“He doesn't get to keep secrets anymore.”
The speakers crackled again.
Nathan's mother's voice returned.
“My son…”
Nathan froze.
“There are things you must know.”
The room became silent.
“You were never supposed to inherit the Cole empire.”
Nathan frowned.
“The inheritance agreement was created for another purpose.”
Richard whispered:
“Please…”
The voice continued.
“Alexander created the heir program because he discovered something about our family.”
Nathan stared at the speaker.
“What?”
“An inherited condition.”
Grace looked confused.
Nathan waited.
His mother's voice continued.
“Every generation, one child carries a genetic marker that makes them uniquely compatible with the Cole family's biological security system.”
Nathan looked at Lily.
The mark on her wrist was still glowing.
“The marker cannot be manufactured.”
Emma and Daniel looked down at their wrists.
Their marks were fading.
Lily's remained bright.
Nathan understood.
“That's why Lily is different.”
“Yes.”
His mother's voice sounded weaker.
“She carries the true marker.”
Richard whispered:
“That was why they wanted her.”
Nathan turned.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Richard's face was full of regret.
“Because if Alexander knew Lily had the marker, he'd never stop hunting her.”
Grace's eyes hardened.
“So you hid her.”
Richard nodded.
“And you lied to me.”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked at Lily.
The little girl was trembling.
He knelt.
“Lily.”
She looked up.
“Are you my daddy?”
Nathan's throat tightened.
“Yes.”
Richard's face changed.
Nathan looked at him.
“Whatever the DNA says…”
He pulled Lily into his arms.
“She is my daughter.”
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
Alexander suddenly laughed.
“Touching.”
Nathan turned.
“Shut up.”
Alexander looked at Lily.
“You have no idea what she is capable of.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“She is four years old.”
“She is the key to everything.”
“She is a child.”
“She is an heir.”
“She is my daughter.”
Alexander smiled.
“Then you will die protecting her.”
Nathan raised his gun.
Alexander didn't move.
Instead, the vault screens suddenly activated.
A video appeared.
Nathan's mother stood in front of the camera.
She looked younger.
Healthy.
Alive.
Nathan stared.
His knees nearly gave way.
“Mom…”
The recording began.
His mother's eyes looked directly into the camera.
“If Nathan is watching this, then the vault has opened.”
She paused.
“Which means Lily has survived.”
Grace stepped closer.
Nathan couldn't move.
His mother continued.
“I know what they will tell you.”
Her expression became serious.
“They will tell you Lily is not yours.”
Richard looked down.
“They will show you genetic records.”
Nathan stared at the screen.
“They will show you Edward Vale's name.”
Grace gasped.
His mother's voice continued.
“Do not believe them.”
Nathan's eyes widened.
“Edward was not Lily's father.”
Richard suddenly looked up.
Alexander's expression hardened.
The recording continued.
“Edward was the man I trusted to protect Lily.”
Nathan whispered:
“What?”
His mother looked toward the camera.
“Edward was your godfather because I needed someone outside the immediate family.”
A pause.
“He agreed to help me.”
Nathan's face changed.
“Then why did he disappear?”
His mother answered as though she had heard him.
“Because he was hunted.”
Grace covered her mouth.
The screen changed.
A series of documents appeared.
Bank transfers.
Hospital records.
Security footage.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Nathan stared.
One document was highlighted.
OPERATION: LITTLE STAR
Underneath:
TARGET: GRACE CARTER
SECONDARY TARGET: LILY CARTER
EXECUTION ORDER: ALEXANDER COLE
Nathan's hands clenched.
His mother's voice continued.
“I couldn't stop Alexander.”
“I couldn't stop Richard.”
“And I couldn't protect Grace directly.”
“So I made a choice.”
The screen changed again.
A photograph appeared.
Nathan's mother standing beside a pregnant Grace.
Grace looked younger.
Her hands were resting over her stomach.
Nathan stared.
“That was before Lily was born.”
His mother's voice continued.
“I told Grace that if she wanted Lily to survive, she had to disappear.”
Grace closed her eyes.
Tears ran down her face.
“I made her promise never to tell Nathan.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
“You knew.”
Grace shook her head.
“I didn't know she was alive.”
The recording continued.
“And then something happened.”
Nathan looked back at the screen.
“Victoria's father discovered the truth.”
The next document appeared.
NATURAL HEIR CONFIRMED.
LILY CARTER.
Nathan's mother's voice became urgent.
“Alexander ordered the child terminated.”
Grace's body trembled.
“He sent people after Grace.”
Nathan's fists tightened.
“Edward intervened.”
A photograph appeared.
Edward standing beside Grace and Lily.
The same photograph from the vault.
Nathan stared.
His mother continued.
“He saved them.”
Richard whispered:
“I thought Edward betrayed us.”
His mother's voice answered:
“He betrayed Alexander.”
Nathan looked at Richard.
“You knew?”
Richard shook his head.
“I didn't know.”
“You signed the execution order.”
Richard's face collapsed.
“I was forced.”
Nathan stared.
“You always say that.”
Richard lowered his head.
“I was a coward.”
The video continued.
His mother's expression changed.
“If you are watching this, there is one thing you must understand.”
The room went silent.
“Alexander is not the true head of the organization.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
His mother's voice continued.
“He believes he is.”
A pause.
“But there is someone above him.”
Alexander's face suddenly changed.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
Nathan noticed.
“Who?”
The screen flickered.
His mother's voice became distorted.
“His name is…”
Static swallowed the rest.
Nathan stepped toward the screen.
“What?”
The recording restarted.
“His name is…”
Static.
Again.
“His name is…”
The image froze.
Nathan stared.
“Play it again.”
Nothing.
He slammed his hand against the console.
“PLAY IT!”
The screen suddenly displayed a single name.
Not Alexander.
Not Richard.
Not Edward.
A name Nathan had never seen before.
THOMAS COLE.
Nathan frowned.
“Who is Thomas Cole?”
Richard went completely still.
Grace looked at him.
“You know him.”
Richard didn't answer.
Nathan grabbed him.
“Who is Thomas?”
Richard whispered:
“My older brother.”
Nathan's eyes widened.
“Your brother died.”
“No.”
Richard shook his head.
“We thought he did.”
Alexander suddenly shouted:
“ENOUGH!”
Everyone turned.
Alexander was no longer smiling.
He looked terrified.
“Close the vault!”
Richard stared at him.
“Why?”
Alexander looked at the screens.
“Because he knows.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“Who?”
Alexander's eyes met his.
“Thomas.”
Then the lights went out.
A door at the far end of the vault opened.
Footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Slow.
Calm.
Approaching.
Grace pulled Lily close.
Emma and Daniel moved beside Nathan.
A man's voice came from the shadows.
“Father.”
Alexander froze.
The voice continued.
“You've disappointed me.”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
A figure stepped into the red emergency light.
Tall.
Silver-haired.
Wearing an immaculate black suit.
He looked older than Alexander.
But his face was calm.
Almost gentle.
Alexander whispered:
“Thomas…”
The man smiled.
Then looked directly at Nathan.
“So…”
He paused.
“This is my nephew.”
Nathan raised his gun.
Thomas didn't react.
Instead, he looked at Lily.
And smiled.
“Bring me the girl.”
Nathan stepped in front of her.
“No.”
Thomas's smile disappeared.
“Then I'll take all three.”
Behind him, dozens of armed men emerged from the darkness.
Nathan looked around.
They were surrounded.
Thomas slowly lifted one hand.
“Kill anyone who resists.”
Grace tightened her grip on Lily.
Nathan raised his weapon.
Then Daniel suddenly screamed.
“Daddy!”
Nathan turned.
A red laser appeared on Daniel's chest.
Another appeared on Emma.
Then Lily.
Three laser sights.
Three children.
Thomas smiled.
“Now…”
May you like
He looked at Nathan.
“Let's see which one you really love.”
