PART 4 \u2014 THE COUNTDOWN BENEATH BLACKWOOD
\n42:15.
\n42:14.
\n42:13.
\nThe numbers glowing beneath my grandfather’s watch weren’t counting toward midnight.
\nThey were counting toward something else.
\nSomething my grandfather had prepared twelve years before any of us understood we would need it.
\nDetective Bell stared at the photograph on my phone.
\n\u201cWhat happens at zero?\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t know.\u201d
\n\u201cCould it be explosive?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI answered too quickly.
\nBell noticed.
\n\u201cYou don’t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather collected evidence. He wasn’t a bomber.\u201d
\n\u201cPeople change when they’re frightened.\u201d
\n\u201cSo do families.\u201d
\nI looked at the photograph of Kyle holding Noah.
\nMy brother.
\nExcept Kyle wasn’t my brother.
\nNot biologically.
\nVictor Hale was his father.
\nAnd suddenly dozens of memories rearranged themselves.
\nKyle receiving expensive gifts nobody could explain.
\nMother defending him no matter what he did.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Father treating him with a strange combination of resentment and responsibility.
\nThe whispered arguments I’d overheard as a teenager.
\nI had always thought Richard favored me because I was his firstborn.
\nMaybe the truth was simpler.
\nHe had known Kyle wasn’t his.
\nBell grabbed his coat.
\n\u201cWe’re not going alone.\u201d
\n\u201cHale specifically said\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t care what Hale said.\u201d
\nNeither did I.
\nBut I cared about Noah.
\nI cared about Emma.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And if Hale saw police vehicles approaching Blackwood, he might panic.
\n\u201cWe need to make him believe I’m alone.\u201d
\nBell understood immediately.
\nWithin minutes, officers began organizing a perimeter far beyond Blackwood while Bell and Kim prepared an unmarked vehicle.
\nThen my phone rang.
\nEmma.
\nI answered instantly.
\n\u201cWhere are you?\u201d
\nHer whisper barely reached me.
\n\u201cTen minutes from Blackwood.\u201d
\n\u201cIs Lena with you?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy should I trust her?\u201d
\n\u201cYou shouldn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lena’s voice came from beside Emma.
\n\u201cGood answer.\u201d
\n\u201cPut me on speaker.\u201d
\n\u201cYou are.\u201d
\nI stared through the windshield.
\n\u201cExplain the watch.\u201d
\nLena was silent.
\n\u201cLena.\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t know everything.\u201d
\n\u201cStart with what you do know.\u201d
\n\u201cYour grandfather discovered Hale’s network almost thirty years ago. He collected enough evidence to expose everyone connected to it, but evidence is useless if the people holding it can be eliminated.\u201d
\n\u201cSo he created Blackwood.\u201d
\n\u201cHe created insurance.\u201d
\nThe word settled heavily.
\n\u201cWhat kind?\u201d
\n\u201cA dead man’s switch.\u201d
\nBell looked at me.
\nI stared again at the countdown.
\n\u201cWhat happens at zero?\u201d
\n\u201cThe master archive gets released.\u201d
\n\u201cTo whom?\u201d
\n\u201cEveryone.\u201d
\nI didn’t understand.
\n\u201cDefine everyone.\u201d
\n\u201cFederal investigators. Military investigators. Journalists. Prosecutors. Several foreign agencies. Your grandfather built redundant distribution systems years ago.\u201d
\nBell leaned toward the phone.
\n\u201cThen why hasn’t it released already?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause the system needed confirmation that the evidence hadn’t been compromised.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd the watch?\u201d
\n\u201cThe watch is the final authentication key.\u201d
\nI looked at the photograph.
\n\u201cSo when the timer reaches zero\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cHale’s empire becomes public.\u201d
\nFor the first time that night, I smiled.
\nThen Lena said:
\n\u201cUnless Hale stops it first.\u201d
\nThe smile disappeared.
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cHe needs the watch and one biometric authorization.\u201d
\n\u201cMine?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nA pause.
\n\u201cRichard’s.\u201d
\nMy father.
\nThat was why Hale wanted him.
\nThat was why the message demanded I bring Richard to Blackwood.
\nHale needed the watch and my father’s biometric authorization.
\n\u201cBut why Richard?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause your grandfather originally built the system with him.\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\nMy father hadn’t simply known about Blackwood.
\nHe had helped create it.
\nBefore greed.
\nBefore betrayal.
\nBefore Hale corrupted him.
\nRichard had once helped my grandfather build the weapon that could destroy Hale.
\n\u201cWhat about my mother?\u201d
\nI asked.
\nLena went silent again.
\nEmma answered.
\n\u201cWe don’t know.\u201d
\nI did.
\nDiane was somewhere with Hale.
\nAnd if she had worked for him for decades, she might know how to disable the system another way.
\n\u201cEmma, listen to me. Do not go inside Blackwood.\u201d
\n\u201cI can’t promise that.\u201d
\n\u201cYes, you can.\u201d
\n\u201cOur son is there.\u201d
\n\u201cI’ll get Noah.\u201d
\n\u201cHe’s my son too.\u201d
\nHer voice changed.
\nNot louder.
\nStronger.
\n\u201cYou were gone eighteen months, Ethan. I kept him alive while your parents took our money, isolated me, lied to me, destroyed my phone, and finally threw us into a blizzard.\u201d
\nI couldn’t speak.
\n\u201cI am done waiting in safe rooms while other people decide what happens to my family.\u201d
\nEmma ended the call.
\nBell glanced at me.
\n\u201cShe has a point.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\nThat was what terrified me.
\n11:31 P.M.
\nTwenty-nine minutes.
\nWe reached the edge of Blackwood.
\nI got out alone.
\nNo visible police.
\nNo flashing lights.
\nNo sirens.
\nExactly what Hale expected.
\nBell’s voice came through a tiny earpiece.
\n\u201cWe have eyes on you.\u201d
\nI walked through the gate.
\nFresh snow covered most of the tire tracks.
\nThe concrete building appeared between the trees.
\nOne light burned above the entrance.
\nKyle stood beneath it.
\nAlone.
\nMy son wasn’t with him.
\n\u201cWhere’s Noah?\u201d
\nKyle raised both hands.
\n\u201cI don’t have him.\u201d
\n\u201cThe photograph\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cHale made me hold him.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere is he?\u201d
\n\u201cInside.\u201d
\nI kept walking.
\nKyle looked terrible.
\nBlood marked his collar.
\nOne eye was swollen.
\n\u201cDid Hale do that?\u201d
\n\u201cHe found out I called Dad.\u201d
\nI stopped.
\n\u201cYou knew?\u201d
\n\u201cAbout what?\u201d
\n\u201cWho your father is.\u201d
\nKyle’s face collapsed.
\nSo he knew.
\n\u201cHow long?\u201d
\n\u201cSince I was sixteen.\u201d
\nTwenty years.
\nHe’d known for twenty years.
\n\u201cWhy didn’t you tell me?\u201d
\n\u201cTell you what? That Mom had an affair with a criminal and Dad spent my entire childhood pretending I was his?\u201d
\n\u201cYou helped them forge my signature.\u201d
\nHis eyes dropped.
\n\u201cYou helped them steal from Emma.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cYou helped them try to take Noah.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nKyle finally looked at me.
\n\u201cBecause Hale told me if I didn’t, he’d kill you overseas.\u201d
\nThe forest seemed to go silent.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cHe knew your deployment schedule. Your unit. Your routes. Everything.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you believed helping him would save me?\u201d
\n\u201cHe promised.\u201d
\nI almost laughed.
\n\u201cHale attacked my convoy.\u201d
\nKyle’s expression broke.
\n\u201cI didn’t know.\u201d
\n\u201cHe tried to kill me six months ago.\u201d
\n\u201cI didn’t know!\u201d
\nHis voice echoed through the trees.
\nThen he covered his face.
\n\u201cI thought I was keeping you alive.\u201d
\nI wanted to hate him.
\nPart of me did.
\nBut I recognized something in his eyes.
\nShame.
\nThe same shame I’d heard in Father’s voice.
\nHale hadn’t built loyalty.
\nHe’d built cages.
\nDifferent cages for every member of my family.
\nMoney for Father.
\nSecrets for Mother.
\nFear for Kyle.
\nAnd distance for me.
\n\u201cWhere’s Dad?\u201d
\nKyle pointed toward the bunker.
\n\u201cAlive.\u201d
\n\u201cMom?\u201d
\nHis expression changed.
\n\u201cI don’t know.\u201d
\n\u201cEmma?\u201d
\n\u201cNot here yet.\u201d
\n\u201cGood.\u201d
\nA vehicle engine sounded behind us.
\nI turned.
\nHeadlights moved through the trees.
\nEmma.
\nOf course.
\nShe stepped from the passenger side before the vehicle had fully stopped.
\nLena got out carrying my grandfather’s watch.
\nI marched toward them.
\n\u201cI told you not to come.\u201d
\nEmma walked straight to me.
\n\u201cAnd I told you Noah is my son too.\u201d
\nThen she wrapped her arms around me.
\nFor three seconds, there was no Hale.
\nNo Blackwood.
\nNo conspiracy.
\nJust my wife.
\nWarm.
\nAlive.
\nThen she whispered against my chest.
\n\u201cThere’s a tracker under Lena’s car.\u201d
\nI didn’t react.
\n\u201cWhose?\u201d
\n\u201cWe don’t know.\u201d
\nEmma pulled away.
\nLena approached.
\n\u201cTwenty-one minutes.\u201d
\nShe handed me the watch.
\nThe display read:
\n21:06.
\n21:05.
\n21:04.
\nI turned it over.
\nMy grandfather’s initials were engraved on the back.
\nB.C.
\nBenjamin Cole.
\n\u201cWhy did you take Emma from the hospital?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause someone dressed as a police officer arrived asking for her.\u201d
\nBell’s voice came quietly through my earpiece.
\n\u201cWe confirmed that. Hospital footage shows an unidentified male impersonating law enforcement.\u201d
\nLena continued.
\n\u201cI knew Hale had found her.\u201d
\n\u201cSo you ran.\u201d
\n\u201cI protected her.\u201d
\n\u201cYou also lied to me for years.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cAt least you’re finally admitting it.\u201d
\n\u201cI worked for Hale when I was young.\u201d
\n\u201cHow young?\u201d
\n\u201cNineteen.\u201d
\n\u201cDoing what?\u201d
\n\u201cDelivering documents. Moving money. Arranging meetings. By the time I understood what the organization really was, I was already implicated.\u201d
\n\u201cMy grandfather knew.\u201d
\n\u201cHe recruited me as an informant.\u201d
\n\u201cThen why did he warn me not to trust you?\u201d
\nPain crossed her face.
\n\u201cBecause I betrayed him.\u201d
\nEmma looked at her.
\n\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d
\nLena stared toward the bunker.
\n\u201cI told Hale where Benjamin would be the night he died.\u201d
\nMy hand tightened around the watch.
\n\u201cYou helped kill my grandfather.\u201d
\n\u201cI thought Hale wanted to frighten him.\u201d
\n\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nHer eyes met mine.
\n\u201cI expect you to hate me.\u201d
\nThen she pointed toward the bunker.
\n\u201cBut hate me tomorrow. Tonight, get your son.\u201d
\nShe was right.
\nI turned toward Kyle.
\n\u201cTake Emma back to the car.\u201d
\nEmma laughed once.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cEmma.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nLena almost smiled.
\n\u201cYou married a difficult woman.\u201d
\n\u201cThe best decision I ever made.\u201d
\nEmma squeezed my hand.
\n\u201cTogether.\u201d
\nSo we went underground together.
\nMe.
\nEmma.
\nLena.
\nKyle.
\nFour people connected by lies that had started before any of us understood them.
\nAt the bottom of the staircase, the archive door stood open.
\nMost of the lights had been turned off.
\nOnly one row remained illuminated.
\nAt the far end sat my father.
\nRichard was tied to a chair.
\nHis face was bruised.
\nBeside him stood Victor Hale.
\nAnd in Victor’s arms was Noah.
\nMy entire body stopped.
\nNoah was awake.
\nCrying.
\nAlive.
\nHale smiled.
\n\u201cFamily reunion.\u201d
\n\u201cGive me my son.\u201d
\n\u201cGive me the watch.\u201d
\nI held it up.
\n17:42.
\n17:41.
\n\u201cYou first.\u201d
\nHale laughed.
\n\u201cYou’re negotiating from emotion.\u201d
\n\u201cThat’s what fathers do.\u201d
\nHe glanced toward Kyle.
\n\u201cSome fathers.\u201d
\nKyle flinched.
\nHale noticed.
\n\u201cSo she told you?\u201d
\n\u201cMy mother didn’t have to.\u201d
\nHale looked at Kyle.
\nFor one strange second, something almost paternal crossed his face.
\nThen it disappeared.
\n\u201cKyle, come here.\u201d
\nKyle didn’t move.
\n\u201cSon.\u201d
\n\u201cDon’t call me that.\u201d
\nHale’s smile faded.
\n\u201cI gave you everything.\u201d
\n\u201cYou gave me fear.\u201d
\n\u201cI gave you a future.\u201d
\n\u201cYou tried to kill my brother.\u201d
\nHale looked at me.
\n\u201cHalf brother.\u201d
\nKyle stepped beside me.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nHis voice shook.
\n\u201cMy brother.\u201d
\nI hadn’t expected those words to hurt.
\nBut they did.
\nHale’s expression hardened.
\nThen Richard lifted his head.
\n\u201cEthan.\u201d
\n\u201cDad.\u201d
\n\u201cDon’t give him the watch.\u201d
\nHale struck him across the face.
\nEmma moved forward.
\nI caught her arm.
\nHale looked at her.
\n\u201cYou must be Emma.\u201d
\nShe stared at him.
\n\u201cYou must be the coward who needs a baby to negotiate.\u201d
\nEven Bell’s voice disappeared from my earpiece.
\nHale’s face tightened.
\nEmma had found the one weapon he couldn’t tolerate.
\nHumiliation.
\n\u201cCareful.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nShe stepped forward.
\n\u201cYou had eighteen months to destroy us while my husband was overseas.\u201d
\nAnother step.
\n\u201cYou needed forged documents.\u201d
\nAnother.
\n\u201cYou needed his parents.\u201d
\nAnother.
\n\u201cYou needed his brother.\u201d
\nAnother.
\n\u201cAnd now you need my six-month-old baby.\u201d
\nShe stopped ten feet away.
\n\u201cYou aren’t powerful.\u201d
\nHale stared at her.
\n\u201cYou’re terrified.\u201d
\nHis hand moved toward his jacket.
\nI moved too.
\nBut Emma had wanted that.
\nShe threw herself sideways.
\nLena killed the lights.
\nDarkness swallowed the bunker.
\nNoah screamed.
\nSomeone shouted.
\nA gunshot exploded.
\nThen another.
\nI hit the floor.
\n\u201cEmma!\u201d
\n\u201cI’M HERE!\u201d
\n\u201cKyle!\u201d
\n\u201cHere!\u201d
\n\u201cDad!\u201d
\nNo answer.
\nThen emergency lights flickered red.
\nHale was running toward the rear corridor with Noah.
\nI chased him.
\n\u201cHALE!\u201d
\nHe disappeared through a steel door.
\nI followed.
\nThe corridor ended at another chamber.
\nHale stood beside a control panel.
\nNoah was pressed against his chest.
\nA scanner glowed beside him.
\nMy father was already there.
\nHale’s men had dragged him through another entrance.
\nBlood ran from Richard’s temple.
\n\u201cWatch,\u201d Hale demanded.
\nThe countdown read:
\n12:03.
\n\u201cYou’ll hurt Noah if you panic.\u201d
\n\u201cI won’t hurt him.\u201d
\n\u201cYou tried to kill his father.\u201d
\n\u201cBusiness.\u201d
\n\u201cHe’s six months old.\u201d
\n\u201cThen don’t make this difficult.\u201d
\nRichard looked at me.
\nHis eyes dropped toward the watch.
\nThen toward the scanner.
\n\u201cEthan.\u201d
\nSomething in his voice made me understand.
\nHe wanted me to wait.
\nHale shoved Richard’s thumb onto the biometric reader.
\nAUTHORIZED.
\nOne requirement satisfied.
\n\u201cNow the watch.\u201d
\nI stepped forward.
\n11:28.
\n\u201cPut Noah down.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cThen the timer reaches zero.\u201d
\nHale smiled.
\n\u201cYou won’t risk whatever happens.\u201d
\n\u201cYou told me the same thing about my family.\u201d
\nAnother step.
\n\u201cYou misunderstood something.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cYou think because I love them, they’re my weakness.\u201d
\nI looked at Noah.
\n\u201cThey’re why I’m not afraid of you.\u201d
\nHale raised his weapon.
\nThen Richard moved.
\nMy father slammed his shoulder into Hale.
\nNoah slipped.
\nI lunged.
\nI caught my son before he hit the floor.
\nA gunshot thundered.
\nRichard fell.
\n\u201cDAD!\u201d
\nHale ran.
\nBut he didn’t run toward the exit.
\nHe grabbed the watch from where I’d dropped it.
\nThen sprinted toward the control panel.
\n10:46.
\n10:45.
\n10:44.
\nI handed Noah to Emma as she reached us.
\n\u201cTake him!\u201d
\nShe clutched our son.
\nLena and Kyle entered behind her.
\nKyle saw Richard on the floor.
\n\u201cDad!\u201d
\nHe dropped beside him.
\nRichard was conscious.
\nBarely.
\n\u201cI’m sorry,\u201d Kyle whispered.
\nRichard looked at him.
\n\u201cYou’re my son.\u201d
\nKyle froze.
\n\u201cI don’t care whose blood is in you.\u201d
\nHis voice weakened.
\n\u201cYou were always my son.\u201d
\nKyle broke.
\nI turned away because I couldn’t watch.
\nHale slammed the watch against the control panel.
\nA hidden compartment opened.
\nInside was a data port.
\nHe inserted the watch.
\nThe countdown stopped.
\n07:19.
\nHale laughed.
\n\u201cIt’s over.\u201d
\nNothing happened.
\nThen the display changed.
\nIDENTITY REQUIRED.
\nHale grabbed Richard.
\n\u201cYour thumb.\u201d
\nRichard smiled through blood.
\n\u201cYou already used it.\u201d
\n\u201cAgain.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nHale pointed the weapon at Kyle.
\n\u201cDo it.\u201d
\nRichard’s smile disappeared.
\nI stepped forward.
\n\u201cUse mine.\u201d
\nHale looked at me.
\n\u201cYou aren’t authorized.\u201d
\n\u201cYou don’t know that.\u201d
\nHe hesitated.
\nThat was enough.
\nBecause Emma suddenly shouted:
\n\u201cETHAN, LOOK!\u201d
\nThe watch display had changed again.
\nSECOND AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED.
\nNobody had touched the scanner.
\nHale stared at it.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nThen a woman’s voice came from behind us.
\n\u201cMine.\u201d
\nMy mother stood in the doorway.
\nDiane.
\nShe held a pistol.
\nHale smiled.
\n\u201cThere you are.\u201d
\nBut the weapon wasn’t pointed at us.
\nIt was pointed at him.
\n\u201cDiane,\u201d he said softly.
\n\u201cYou were supposed to stay upstairs.\u201d
\n\u201cI spent thirty-six years doing what you told me.\u201d
\n\u201cThen don’t become stupid tonight.\u201d
\nMy mother looked at Kyle.
\nHer son.
\nThen at Noah.
\nHer grandson.
\nThen at Emma.
\nThe woman she’d nearly destroyed.
\nFinally, she looked at me.
\n\u201cI thought protecting Kyle meant obeying Victor.\u201d
\nHer eyes filled.
\n\u201cI was wrong.\u201d
\nHale raised his weapon.
\nMother fired first.
\nThe bullet struck the control panel beside him.
\nSparks exploded.
\nHale stumbled backward.
\nBell’s voice erupted through my earpiece.
\n\u201cMOVE! MOVE! MOVE!\u201d
\nFederal agents and officers flooded the bunker.
\nHale ran through the rear door.
\nKyle started after him.
\nI grabbed his shoulder.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cHe’ll escape!\u201d
\n\u201cLet them take him.\u201d
\nFor once, nobody in my family was going to become what Hale had made us believe we needed to be.
\nAgents pursued him.
\nBell secured the room.
\nParamedics rushed toward Richard.
\nDiane dropped her weapon and raised her hands.
\nAn officer handcuffed her.
\nShe didn’t resist.
\nShe looked at Emma.
\n\u201cI don’t expect forgiveness.\u201d
\nEmma held Noah tighter.
\n\u201cGood.\u201d
\nMother nodded.
\n\u201cI deserve that.\u201d
\nThen she looked at me.
\n\u201cI did put them outside.\u201d
\nI said nothing.
\n\u201cRichard told me to scare Emma. Hale told me the baby needed to stay. I convinced myself it would only be a few minutes.\u201d
\nHer voice cracked.
\n\u201cThen the storm worsened.\u201d
\n\u201cYou could have opened the door.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cYou heard Noah crying.\u201d
\nTears rolled down her face.
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cYou watched my wife freeze.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\nFor the first time, Diane didn’t make excuses.
\nAnd strangely, that made what she’d done worse.
\nOfficers led her away.
\nI turned toward Emma.
\nNoah’s tiny hand reached from beneath her blanket.
\nI touched his fingers.
\nWarm.
\nAlive.
\nMine.
\nOurs.
\nThen the bunker alarms began.
\n07:19 disappeared.
\nA new countdown appeared across every monitor.
\n00:59.
\n00:58.
\nBell looked around.
\n\u201cWhat did Hale activate?\u201d
\nLena’s face went pale.
\n\u201cHe didn’t stop the release.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d
\n\u201cHe accelerated it.\u201d
\n00:51.
\n00:50.
\nScreens throughout the archive began illuminating.
\nFiles opened automatically.
\nPhotographs.
\nBank records.
\nMilitary contracts.
\nNames.
\nHundreds of names.
\nThen thousands.
\nVictor Hale hadn’t destroyed my grandfather’s evidence.
\nHe’d triggered it.
\n00:38.
\nEmma stared at the screens.
\n\u201cWhere is this going?\u201d
\nLena looked almost stunned.
\n\u201cEverywhere.\u201d
\n00:30.
\nThen one file opened larger than the others.
\nBENJAMIN COLE \u2014 FINAL STATEMENT.
\nA video began.
\nMy grandfather appeared on-screen.
\nOlder.
\nTired.
\nAlive.
\nHe looked directly into the camera.
\n\u201cIf this recording is playing, then my family has finally reached the truth.\u201d
\nMy throat tightened.
\nRichard lifted his head from the stretcher.
\nKyle stopped crying.
\nEven Diane, being led through the doorway, turned around.
\nGrandfather continued.
\n\u201cRichard, if you’re alive, I hope you found the courage I failed to teach you.\u201d
\nFather closed his eyes.
\n\u201cEthan, if you’re watching, I’m sorry.\u201d
\nI stepped closer.
\n\u201cI built Blackwood to protect evidence.\u201d
\nGrandfather paused.
\n\u201cBut the evidence was never my greatest secret.\u201d
\nThe timer reached:
\n00:10.
\n00:09.
\n00:08.
\nGrandfather looked down.
\nWhen he looked back at the camera, tears filled his eyes.
\n\u201cThere is something about Ethan that Richard and Diane agreed never to tell him.\u201d
\nMy heart stopped.
\n00:05.
\n00:04.
\nI looked at Father.
\nHe was staring at the screen in horror.
\n\u201cDad?\u201d
\n00:03.
\nMother whispered:
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n00:02.
\nGrandfather spoke.
\n\u201cEthan is not Richard and Diane’s biological son.\u201d
\n00:01.
\nThe timer reached zero.
\nEvery screen flashed.
\nUPLOAD COMPLETE.
\nThe archive had been released.
\nBut I couldn’t move.
\nCouldn’t breathe.
\nCouldn’t hear Bell shouting that Hale had been captured near the northern gate.
\nCouldn’t hear agents announcing that the evidence had reached federal servers.
\nCouldn’t even hear Noah crying.
\nI stared at my parents.
\nKyle wasn’t my father’s biological son.
\nAnd now, apparently, neither was I.
\nRichard tried to sit up.
\n\u201cEthan, listen to me.\u201d
\n\u201cWho am I?\u201d
\n\u201cIt doesn’t change anything.\u201d
\n\u201cWHO AM I?\u201d
\nMother began crying.
\nGrandfather’s video continued behind us.
\n\u201cIf Ethan has reached this point, then he deserves the truth about why Hale wanted him dead.\u201d
\nI turned toward the screen.
\nGrandfather leaned closer to the camera.
\n\u201cEthan’s biological father was the first man who tried to expose Victor Hale.\u201d
\nA photograph appeared.
\nA young soldier in uniform.
\nI had never seen him before.
\nBut I knew his face.
\nBecause it was almost mine.
\nSame eyes.
\nSame jaw.
\nSame scar-shaped crease beside the eyebrow.
\nBeneath the photograph appeared a name.
\nCAPTAIN JONATHAN REEVES.
\nDECEASED.
\nI stared at it.
\nGrandfather continued.
\n\u201cJonathan discovered Hale’s operation twenty-nine years ago.\u201d
\nMy voice disappeared.
\n\u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d
\nGrandfather answered from twelve years in the past.
\n\u201cVictor Hale murdered him.\u201d
\nEmma grabbed my hand.
\nBut the video wasn’t finished.
\n\u201cAnd Ethan’s biological mother survived.\u201d
\nI looked at Diane.
\nShe shook her head.
\n\u201cNot me.\u201d
\nGrandfather’s face filled the screen again.
\n\u201cShe has been alive this entire time.\u201d
\nMy chest tightened.
\nRichard whispered:
\n\u201cBenjamin, don’t.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd if Blackwood has been activated, she has already received the same evidence package.\u201d
\nA new photograph appeared.
\nA woman stood beside Jonathan Reeves.
\nYoung.
\nDark-haired.
\nSmiling.
\nI didn’t recognize her.
\nThen her name appeared.
\nDR. ELIZABETH REEVES.
\nCURRENT STATUS: PROTECTED.
\nI stared at the screen.
\n\u201cMy mother is alive?\u201d
\nRichard looked away.
\n\u201cDad.\u201d
\nHe couldn’t answer.
\n\u201cWhere is she?\u201d
\nBefore anyone could speak, my phone rang.
\nUnknown number.
\nEvery person in the bunker looked at me.
\nI answered.
\n\u201cHello?\u201d
\nFor several seconds, there was only breathing.
\nThen a woman spoke.
\nHer voice trembled.
\n\u201cEthan?\u201d
\nI couldn’t answer.
\nShe began crying.
\n\u201cI have waited twenty-nine years to hear your voice.\u201d
\nMy knees nearly gave out.
\n\u201cWho is this?\u201d
\nBut I already knew.
\nShe whispered:
\n\u201cMy name is Elizabeth.\u201d
\nA pause.
\n\u201cAnd I’m your mother.\u201d
\nTO BE CONTINUED………………<\/p>\n
PART 4 \u2014 THE COUNTDOWN BENEATH BLACKWOOD 42:15. 42:14. 42:13. The numbers glowing beneath my grandfather’s watch weren’t counting toward midnight. They were counting toward something else. Something my grandfather … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6518,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6515\/revisions\/6518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}