Chapter 12 - THE HEIR PROJECTI stared at the photograph until the words blurred.
"Where did you get this?"
Alexander didn't answer.
Flynn did.
"The Black Ledger."
Alexander looked at him.
"Correct."
I stepped back.
"You work for them."
"I did."
"Did?"
"Until I realized what they were planning."
"What are they planning?"
Alexander's eyes moved to me.
"To use you."
"For what?"
"To unlock the Protocol."
I shook my head.
"You said you owned the Protocol."
"I lied."
My heart pounded.
"Why?"
"Because I needed you to come willingly."
"Come where?"
"To Geneva."
I stared.
"Why Geneva?"
"The original server is there."
"What server?"
"The Hart system."
Richard appeared in the doorway.
Everyone raised weapons.
He looked exhausted.
"I know where the server is."
I stared.
"You work for them."
"No."
"You pointed a gun at me."
"Because Victor had my family."
"Your family?"
"My granddaughter."
He lowered his weapon.
"She was taken two years ago."
Silence.
"Victor uses people," Richard continued. "He takes their families, their debts, their secrets. Then he owns them."
I looked at Flynn.
"Does anyone in this story actually have a choice?"
He looked away.
Richard walked toward me.
"Your father believed you would eventually have to choose."
"Choose what?"
"Whether to destroy the Protocol."
I frowned.
"Why would I destroy something worth billions?"
"Because the Protocol isn't just money."
Richard placed a document on the table.
It listed governments.
Corporations.
Private banks.
Political organizations.
At the bottom was a sentence:
THE HART PROTOCOL CAN FREEZE ANY LINKED FINANCIAL SYSTEM WITHIN 47 SECONDS.
My blood chilled.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Richard shook his head.
"Your father proved it."
"Then why didn't he use it?"
"Because he believed power like that would corrupt anyone who possessed it."
I looked at Flynn.
"My father trusted me with it."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Richard looked at me.
"Because he believed you were the least ambitious person in the family."
I almost laughed.
"That's your explanation?"
"It was his."
A sound came from upstairs.
Clara.
I turned.
"Where is she?"
Richard's face changed.
"What?"
"Clara."
Flynn moved first.
We ran upstairs.
She wasn't there.
Instead, my bedroom television was on.
A live video.
Victor Hale appeared on screen.
"My congratulations, Mabel."
I froze.
He smiled.
"You have discovered almost everything."
"Where is my daughter?"
"Safe."
"Put her on."
Victor's smile widened.
"You have until sunrise."
"For what?"
"Activate the Hart Protocol."
I stared.
"If you don't, Clara dies."
"How?"
"You'll receive instructions."
The screen went black.
Then another window appeared.
A countdown.
05:59:32
Five hours.
Twenty-nine minutes.
Then a message appeared:
GENEVA.
Another:
BRING ALEXANDER.
And finally:
DO NOT BRING FLYNN.
I looked at my husband.
For the first time, he smiled.
"That's exactly what they want."
I frowned.
"What?"
"They want me separated from you."
"Why?"
Flynn looked at Alexander.
"Because they know I'm the only person who can stop her from activating the Protocol."
Alexander smiled.
"He's right."
Flynn turned to me.
"They don't need the Protocol."
"They need me."
"No."
He shook his head.
"They need your choice."
I didn't understand.
Then Flynn said the sentence that changed everything.
"Your father designed the Protocol so it can only be activated by one person."
"Who?"
May you like
He looked into my eyes.
"You."
