Chapter 20 - The Name at the Top
Nobody moved.
The voice continued through the phone.
“Put me on speaker.”
Daniel did.
Caldwell shouted:
“Don’t.”
Daniel looked at him.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
The voice filled the vault.
“Thomas, you’ve made quite a mess.”
Caldwell’s face had turned pale.
“I can fix this.”
“You’ve been saying that for five years.”
Daniel stepped closer to the phone.
“Who are you?”
The man ignored him.
“Mr. Shaw.”
Shaw looked toward the phone.
“Yes?”
“You disappoint me.”
Shaw laughed bitterly.
“Join the club.”
The voice continued.
“Rachel.”
She held Ethan tighter.
“You were always smarter than the others.”
“Go to hell.”
A soft laugh.
Then:
“Michael Cole. You should have stayed dead.”
Michael stared at the phone.
Finally the voice addressed Daniel.
“And you.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Say your name.”
“You already know it.”
“No.”
“You just don’t remember.”
Daniel looked confused.
Then a video appeared on the phone screen.
Old footage.
A hospital room.
Daniel lying unconscious after the failed mission five years earlier.
A man stood beside his bed.
Doctor’s coat.
Face partly hidden.
The man leaned toward Daniel and injected something into his IV.
The video froze.
Daniel stared.
Rachel whispered:
“Oh my God.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
“I know him.”
Caldwell suddenly ran.
Shaw caught him before he reached the elevator.
Daniel turned back to Rachel.
“Who?”
Her voice shook.
“Dr. Adrian Vale.”
Michael went pale.
Daniel frowned.
“Never heard of him.”
Rachel stared.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Vale ran the psychological program attached to your unit.”
Daniel felt pressure behind his eyes.
Images flickered.
A white room.
Questions.
Needles.
Shaw standing behind glass.
A voice saying:
Again.
Again.
Again.
Daniel staggered.
Ethan grabbed his hand.
“Daniel?”
Then the man on the phone spoke again.
“You didn’t outrun your past, Daniel.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
Dr. Vale smiled into the camera.
“You simply forgot it.”
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then police sirens approached above them.
Real police this time.
Federal agents followed.
Brenner’s flash drive had automatically uploaded everything when the vault opened.
Caldwell heard the sirens.
His shoulders dropped.
It was over for him.
But Daniel knew better.
Caldwell wasn’t the top.
Shaw wasn’t the top.
Maybe Vale wasn’t either.
Rachel took Ethan’s hand.
Michael stood beside them.
For the first time, the family looked almost whole.
Damaged.
Angry.
Confused.
But alive.
Ethan looked up at Daniel.
“Are you leaving?”
Daniel stared toward the elevator.
He remembered the diner.
The small hand gripping his jacket.
Don’t let them take me.
He had thought saving Ethan would be one decision.
One fight.
One night.
He had been wrong.
Daniel crouched beside him.
“No.”
Ethan’s eyes searched his.
Daniel gave a small nod.
“I told you before.”
He looked at Michael.
At Rachel.
At the phone containing Dr. Vale’s image.
Then back at Ethan.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Ethan hugged him.
Daniel hesitated.
Then put one arm around the boy.
Over Ethan’s shoulder, Daniel saw Shaw staring toward the open vault.
“What?” Daniel asked.
Shaw pointed.
At the back wall.
There was a tiny red light.
Blinking.
Daniel walked closer.
A hidden camera.
Still recording.
Someone had watched everything.
Then Daniel noticed the words scratched into the metal beneath it.
Three words.
WELCOME BACK, HAYES.
Daniel stared.
His phone vibrated.
One new message.
No number.
No sender.
Just a photograph.
Taken less than ten seconds earlier.
Daniel hugging Ethan inside the vault.
Beneath it were five words.
YOU SAVED THE WRONG CHILD.
Daniel slowly looked at Ethan.
And somewhere far beyond the walls of Lakeshore Trust, a man Daniel could not remember watched the same video…
and smiled.
THE END OF SEASON ONE.
The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.
May you like
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://metro.treeiq.biz
New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
