Chapter 8 - THE FATHER WHO DIEDDavid spent the entire night digging through family records.
Birth certificates.
Old bank statements.
Death certificates.
Photographs.
He found a pattern.
His father had not died in 2011.
The death certificate was authentic.
But the body had never been independently identified.
David stared at the document.
“How did I miss this?”
Maya sat across from him.
“You trusted your family.”
David laughed bitterly.
“I trusted everyone.”
Maya answered quietly,
“And look where that got us.”
David looked at her.
“I deserve that.”
She didn't disagree.
The federal team found a hidden archive beneath the Vance estate.
The entrance was behind a false wall.
Inside were dozens of boxes.
Each contained names.
Politicians.
Judges.
Executives.
Scientists.
Journalists.
And children.
David opened one.
Lily's name appeared.
Underneath it:
SUBJECT 43.
Maya covered her mouth.
David looked sick.
“No.”
A second page.
“Exposure initiated.”
He turned another.
“Observation.”
Then:
“Outcome: deceased.”
David slammed the folder shut.
“Who approved this?”
A recording began automatically.
A man's voice filled the room.
Arthur Vance.
David's father.
“Every system has a weakness.”
David froze.
The recording continued.
“The weakness of government is morality.”
Maya looked at David.
Arthur spoke calmly.
“That is why we created Project Hush.”
David's hands shook.
“To test influence.”
Another voice asked,
“And the children?”
Arthur answered,
“They are leverage.”
Maya's eyes filled with fury.
David couldn't move.
His father had knowingly used children as experimental subjects.
Forty-three of them.
Lily was merely the latest.
But then Arthur said something that changed everything.
“My son David will inherit the network.”
David stared.
“No.”
Maya whispered,
“Listen.”
Arthur continued.
“David must remain ignorant until the transition is complete.”
David's face turned white.
“The yacht.”
Maya nodded.
“They wanted you away from the country while the transfer occurred.”
David understood.
His trip wasn't an accident.
Julianne had deliberately isolated him.
The financial transfer.
The murders.
Lily's poisoning.
All of it had been designed around his absence.
Then the recording changed.
A different voice.
Thomas.
“If you're listening, David, I'm sorry.”
David's breath stopped.
Thomas continued.
“Dad will never stop.”
“I tried to destroy Project Hush.”
“They stopped me.”
A pause.
Then:
“I left one final safeguard.”
David looked at the screen.
Thomas whispered,
“Maya.”
Maya froze.
“Me?”
Thomas continued.
“She doesn't know it yet, but she is the legal successor.”
David turned toward her.
“What?”
Thomas's voice continued.
“Dad can control the company.”
“He can control the money.”
“But he cannot control the trust.”
David stared at Maya.
She looked equally stunned.
“The trust…”
Thomas continued.
“Everything I've hidden is protected under Maya's name.”
The recording ended.
Silence.
Then a federal agent burst into the room.
“Agent Donovan?”
She turned.
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
“What kind?”
“The White House is requesting David's immediate transfer.”
David frowned.
“Why?”
The agent handed her a classified document.
Donovan read it.
Her expression changed.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
She looked up.
“The President's office says David Vance is a national security asset.”
David stared.
“I'm being arrested.”
“No.”
Donovan slowly folded the document.
“You're being protected.”
Maya frowned.
“From whom?”
Donovan answered,
“The United States government.”
Then every light in the underground archive went out.
May you like
And in the darkness, a familiar female voice whispered:
“Hello, Maya.”
