Chapter 10 - The Truth Under the Gown of LiesThe courthouse fell silent.
Matthews finally raised his eyes.
“I knew your father.”
I stared.
“Who are you?”
He exhaled.
“My name isn't Matthews.”
Vale laughed.
“Now we're getting somewhere.”
The detective reached into his jacket.
He pulled out an old identification card.
Not police.
Federal.
My father's photograph appeared beside it.
I couldn't speak.
“My father trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“You helped him build the system.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you disappear?”
“Because I was supposed to.”
He looked at Vale.
“And because someone inside our organization betrayed us.”
My mother laughed bitterly.
“Someone?”
Matthews looked at her.
“You.”
The word hung in the air.
My mother closed her eyes.
“I know.”
Vale shook his head.
“This is pointless.”
He raised the gun.
“Authenticate the system.”
I looked at my mother.
She nodded.
Then she whispered:
“Do it.”
I was shocked.
“Mom?”
“Your father wanted the truth exposed.”
“Even if it destroys you?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me.
“I spent twenty years protecting a lie.”
Her voice trembled.
“I don't want to die inside it.”
Matthews activated the system.
The screen lit up.
My mother's name appeared.
Then mine.
Then five others.
Five identities.
Five people.
Five pieces of a machine designed to survive its creators.
Vale moved closer.
“Authenticate.”
My mother placed her hand on the scanner.
The system accepted her.
Then the machine asked for the witness.
I placed my hand beside hers.
The screen flashed red.
ACCESS DENIED.
Vale stared.
“What?”
Matthews smiled.
“The system doesn't recognize her as the witness.”
Vale turned to me.
“Why?”
I looked at the final field.
There was one name.
Not mine.
Not my mother's.
My father's.
WITNESS: DAVID CARTER
Vale's face changed.
“He's dead.”
Matthews shook his head.
“No.”
The lights came on.
The courthouse doors opened.
A man walked in.
Older.
Gray hair.
A scar across his cheek.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
My father.
I couldn't breathe.
My mother stood frozen.
Derek whispered:
“Dad?”
My father looked at all of us.
Then at Vale.
“You always were impatient.”
Vale stumbled backward.
“No.”
My father continued walking.
“Robert, you lost because you believed money was power.”
He looked at me.
“It isn't.”
He touched the USB.
“Truth is.”
I began crying.
“You're alive.”
He nodded.
“I've been alive.”
“Why didn't you come back?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because every time I tried, they threatened you.”
I looked at my mother.
She couldn't stop crying.
My father looked at her.
“You made terrible choices.”
She whispered:
“I know.”
“But you stayed.”
She nodded.
“I didn't know how to get out.”
“I know.”
Vale raised his gun.
Matthews moved first.
A single shot cracked through the room.
Vale dropped the weapon.
Police stormed through the doors.
Derek collapsed against the wall.
My mother covered her face.
And my father stood in front of me.
I wanted to hug him.
Instead, I just stared.
There were twenty years of questions between us.
He understood.
“We have time,” he said.
I shook my head.
“No.”
He looked confused.
“I don't know if we do.”
I pointed at the computer.
“The system.”
He turned.
The screen was still red.
FINAL AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
My father frowned.
“That shouldn't be possible.”
Matthews stared at it.
“Someone changed the code.”
My mother looked terrified.
“Who?”
Then the screen refreshed.
A new name appeared.
Not mine.
Not my mother's.
Not my father's.
Not Vale's.
Someone else.
Someone who had been watching us from the beginning.
PRIMARY ADMINISTRATOR: DEREK CARTER
Everyone turned.
Derek went pale.
“I didn't do that.”
My mother stared at him.
“Derek…”
“I swear.”
The screen began displaying files.
Thousands of them.
Hidden accounts.
Secret recordings.
Names.
Payments.
Photographs.
Then one folder opened automatically.
Its title was:
OPERATION EYE.
Inside was a video.
The date was six months earlier.
Derek appeared on screen.
But this Derek wasn't crying.
He wasn't drunk.
He wasn't desperate.
He was calm.
Confident.
Speaking directly to the camera.
“If you're seeing this,” he said, “then everything worked.”
My blood turned cold.
On the screen, he smiled.
“Mom thinks I'm helping Vale.”
“She thinks I'm scared.”
“She thinks I need the money.”
He leaned toward the camera.
“But the truth is…”
The video paused.
A loading symbol appeared.
Then the final sentence appeared instead.
DEREK WAS NEVER WORKING FOR VALE.
I slowly turned toward my brother.
He was staring at the screen.
His face had gone completely white.
“Derek…”
He backed away.
“I can explain.”
My father stepped forward.
“Son.”
Derek looked at him.
And for the first time, the fear in his eyes disappeared.
He smiled.
Not the nervous smile I knew.
Not the angry one from the barbecue.
A completely different smile.
Cold.
Calculated.
He reached into his pocket.
I heard a small electronic click.
Every computer screen in the courthouse went black.
Then one final message appeared across all of them.
PHASE THREE COMPLETE.
Derek looked at me.
And whispered:
“You were never the target.”
He paused.
“You were the trigger.”
The courthouse doors slammed shut.
May you like
And somewhere beneath the building, something enormous powered on.
TO BE CONTINUED…
