Chapter 13 - MY FATHER WASN’T DEADThere are some truths that don't arrive gently.
They kick the door open.
My father had supposedly died in a boating accident.
No body recovered.
Funeral.
Certificate.
Everything.
But Marcus's video said otherwise.
Cole stared at me.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
We checked government records.
Nothing.
Then the microdrive unlocked another file.
A photograph appeared.
My father.
Older.
Alive.
Standing beside Colonel Shaw.
Behind them was a facility in another country.
Cole whispered:
“What the hell?”
A second image.
My father.
Shaw.
Marcus.
And Titan.
Taken before I ever met the dog.
I felt sick.
My father had been involved in the original K9 program.
Not police K9s.
Something larger.
An intelligence project that trained dogs to detect hidden materials, explosives, chemicals, and human movement.
Titan had been one of its prototypes.
Marcus had discovered the program's real purpose.
The dogs weren't just being trained to find criminals.
They were being trained to find people who were supposed to disappear.
Names on the ledger included officials who had funded it.
Marcus wanted to expose them.
My father wanted to protect the program.
Shaw had chosen the middle ground.
Hide everything.
Eliminate anyone who threatened it.
And then Marcus found out.
I stared at the screen.
“So my father is alive.”
“Yes,” Cole said.
“Where?”
The screen displayed coordinates.
I recognized them.
An old lakeside property two hours away.
My childhood home.
The same place my father supposedly died.
We drove there before dawn.
The house was empty.
But Titan found a trail.
He led us to the old boathouse.
Inside was a mattress.
Food.
Medical supplies.
A radio.
Someone had been living there.
Recently.
Then we heard a voice behind us.
“You finally came.”
I turned.
An older man stood in the doorway.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Same eyes.
My father.
I couldn't move.
“Dad?”
He looked at Titan.
Then at me.
“I knew the dog would bring you.”
I raised my weapon.
“Why did you lie?”
“Because they would kill you.”
“Marcus died anyway.”
My father's face changed.
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
I stepped forward.
“You knew Marcus was investigating Shaw.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you stop them?”
He looked at the floor.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Shaw?”
“No.”
He looked directly at me.
“Of what was above him.”
I felt cold.
“Above him?”
My father nodded.
“There was another organization.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Titan.
“That dog saved your life once.”
“When?”
“Not in the park.”
He swallowed.
“The night Marcus died.”
I stared.
“What happened?”
My father closed the door.
“He was shot.”
“By Kane?”
“No.”
“Shaw?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
My father whispered:
“You.”
My chest tightened.
“You killed Marcus?”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You were forced to.”
I couldn't speak.
“Someone had taken Titan,” he continued. “They put a gun to his head. Marcus refused to cooperate. You were ordered to choose.”
I remembered the blank space.
The gun.
Marcus.
Titan screaming.
Then nothing.
My father reached for the table.
“Marcus knew what they were going to do.”
“He gave you the drive?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew he wouldn't survive.”
Then headlights swept across the boathouse windows.
My father looked terrified.
“They found us.”
Titan growled.
Someone outside shouted.
May you like
Then the boathouse door exploded inward.
And Colonel Shaw stepped through.
