Chapter 12 - The Matriarch's Ledger
The woman pacing before my son was Director Eleanor Vance—the legendary retired head of federal intelligence oversight, a woman the media had reported as bedridden and frail for over a decade. Yet here she was, standing tall, her sharp eyes scanning the shadowy corners of the warehouse as if expecting us.
"You can come out of the shadows, David," Director Vance called out, her voice echoing clearly across the hollow concrete floor. "And bring your brave wife with you. We've been waiting for you to finish the family reunion."
David pushed the heavy side door open, stepping into the warehouse with his weapon lowered by his side, shielding me slightly as we walked into the light.
"Let the boy go, Eleanor," David demanded, his voice steady and cold. "The drive is right here. You have what you wanted."
Director Vance stopped pacing, turning her gaze toward us with a thin, condescending smile. She glanced briefly at Leo, who looked up at us with wide, hopeful eyes, before returning her attention to David.
"You always were a sentimental fool, David," Vance said smoothly, tapping her silver cane against the concrete. "The drive is only half the puzzle. Without the decryption key encoded in your grandfather's DNA, that flash drive is just a useless piece of plastic."
I stepped forward, stepping past David before he could stop me. "You killed my parents for that DNA, didn't you?" I demanded, my voice ringing out with sharp, trembling rage. "You wanted the Harrison estate liquidated to fund your off-the-books operations."
Director Vance didn't flinch. She simply tilted her head, her expression one of cold, bureaucratic indifference.
"Your parents were planning to expose the agency's entire surveillance grid, Elena. They were traitors to the state," Vance replied smoothly. "And now, your son will finish what they started, providing the biological authentication we need to secure our archives forever."
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Before Vance could signal her guards, a deafening explosion rocked the opposite end of the warehouse, shattering the overhead skylights and plunging the room into chaotic darkness.
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