Chapter 13 - The Last Family SecretGabriel revealed the truth.
Orchid wasn't simply a database.
It was a weapon.
Whoever controlled it could destroy Black Thorn.
But they could also destroy governments, companies, banks, and anyone connected to them.
Clara looked at the countdown.
“You want me to activate it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because only you can authorize the release.”
Alexander shook his head.
“Don't listen to him.”
Gabriel laughed.
“He still doesn't know.”
Clara turned.
“Know what?”
Gabriel smiled.
“Alexander is part of Orchid too.”
Alexander went pale.
Clara stared.
“No.”
Gabriel pressed a button.
A file appeared.
SUBJECT: ALEXANDER VALE
Clara read the first line.
STATUS: SUCCESSOR CANDIDATE
Her heart sank.
“He was raised to replace your father,” Gabriel said.
Alexander interrupted.
“I never accepted it.”
“But you were trained for it.”
Clara looked at Alexander.
“Is that true?”
He nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
She stepped backward.
“You knew about Black Thorn.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Orchid.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew about me.”
“I knew you were important.”
“Not enough.”
“I knew you were being watched.”
She looked devastated.
“How much of our marriage was real?”
Alexander answered without hesitation.
“All of it.”
Gabriel laughed.
“Pathetic.”
Clara ignored him.
She looked at Alexander.
“Then prove it.”
He looked confused.
“How?”
“Destroy Orchid.”
Silence.
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
Clara understood.
If Alexander truly loved her, he would give up the power everyone had been killing for.
Alexander walked toward the control panel.
Gabriel raised his gun.
“Don't.”
Alexander kept moving.
“You wanted a successor?”
He looked at Clara.
“Choose someone else.”
He smashed the primary console.
Sparks exploded.
Gabriel fired.
Clara shoved Alexander down.
The bullet grazed her shoulder.
She cried out.
Gabriel lunged.
Then Jonathan appeared.
Alive.
He tackled Gabriel.
The two men crashed into the floor.
“Dad!”
Jonathan shouted:
“Finish it!”
Clara ran to the console.
The countdown showed:
00:59
She inserted the drive.
The system asked:
RELEASE OR DELETE?
Two choices.
She hesitated.
If she released everything, innocent people could die.
If she deleted it, Black Thorn would survive.
Then she remembered her mother.
Trust no one.
Clara selected:
RELEASE.
Alexander stared.
“Clara, are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She pressed enter.
The screens went black.
Then every file uploaded.
Across the world, phones lit up.
Newsrooms received encrypted packages.
Police departments received evidence.
Governments received names.
Black Thorn began collapsing in real time.
Gabriel screamed.
“No!”
Jonathan held him down.
The facility shook.
Emergency lights flashed.
The walls began to crack.
Alexander grabbed Clara.
“We have to go.”
She looked back.
Jonathan was still fighting Gabriel.
“Dad!”
Jonathan smiled.
“Go!”
They ran.
The explosion came seconds later.
Above them, the ruined estate collapsed.
Clara and Alexander escaped into the forest.
When the dust settled...
the facility was gone.
So was Jonathan.
Clara sank to her knees.
Alexander knelt beside her.
“He saved us.”
She looked toward the burning ruins.
Then her phone vibrated.
One message.
From an unknown number.
YOU RELEASED THE WRONG FILE.
Clara's blood turned cold.
A second message arrived.
ORCHID WASN'T THE WEAPON.
May you like
Then the final one.
YOU ARE.
