Chapter 9 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be DeadCharlotte stared at the screen.
Her father.
Alive.
Impossible.
Daniel covered his mouth.
Mara looked away.
Charlotte turned toward her.
"You knew."
Mara didn't deny it.
"Where is he?"
"We don't know."
Charlotte grabbed her.
"You knew my father was alive?"
"We knew he survived the crash."
"Where is he?"
Mara hesitated.
"The last transmission came from the island."
Charlotte stepped backward.
"Then we're going."
Mara nodded.
"We leave tonight."
But before they could move, the basement door exploded inward.
Armed men entered.
Charlotte dropped behind a desk.
Mara returned fire.
Daniel pulled Victoria behind cover.
A man shouted:
"Take the girl alive!"
Charlotte's stomach dropped.
"They're here for me."
Mara shouted.
"Run!"
Charlotte grabbed Victoria.
They escaped through a side corridor.
Bullets struck the walls.
The underground passage became a maze.
Charlotte remembered the map.
"There!"
They reached a hidden garage.
An SUV waited inside.
They jumped in.
Mara drove.
The gates opened.
Gunfire followed them into the night.
For an hour, nobody spoke.
Then Victoria finally asked:
"How could my father be involved in all of this?"
Charlotte looked at her.
"Your father was a pawn."
Victoria shook her head.
"Margaret?"
"Maybe."
Mara kept driving.
"No."
They looked at her.
"The real mastermind isn't Margaret."
Charlotte's heart sank.
"Who?"
Mara didn't answer.
"Not yet."
They reached a private airfield.
A jet waited.
Charlotte boarded.
Three hours later, they landed on a remote island.
The jungle was thick.
The ocean surrounded them.
According to Eleanor's map, the facility was somewhere beneath the central ridge.
They trekked through the forest.
Then Charlotte found a stone door.
A symbol was carved into it.
The Vale family crest.
Charlotte pressed her hand against it.
Nothing.
Mara nodded toward her necklace.
Charlotte removed the pendant.
Placed it inside a hidden slot.
The door opened.
A massive underground corridor stretched into darkness.
Lights activated automatically.
Charlotte stepped forward.
"Hello?"
A voice answered.
"Charlotte."
Her entire body froze.
The voice was familiar.
Too familiar.
A man stepped out of the darkness.
Gray hair.
Scarred face.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
Her father's eyes.
Charlotte whispered:
"Dad."
He smiled.
"You're finally home."
She ran to him.
He caught her.
For several seconds, Charlotte was six years old again.
Then she pulled away.
"Why did you stay hidden?"
His expression changed.
"Because Margaret wasn't the only one hunting you."
"Who?"
He looked at Mara.
Then Daniel.
Finally, Victoria.
"The person behind all of this has been inside Solmere for twenty years."
Charlotte's pulse raced.
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"Someone you have already met."
Then the facility alarms began screaming.
Red lights flashed.
Her father looked toward the ceiling.
"They found us."
Charlotte's eyes widened.
"Who?"
He grabbed her arm.
"We have seven minutes."
"Seven minutes for what?"
The first explosion shook the underground facility.
May you like
Her father looked directly at her.
"Before the entire island is destroyed."
