Chapter 28 - The Man Behind the Glass
The first explosion shook the entire building.
Smoke poured through the corridor.
My father grabbed me and dragged me under the table.
Guards opened fire.
Someone screamed.
The emergency lights turned red.
I could barely see.
Then a figure appeared behind the glass.
Victor Sloane.
He looked directly at me.
Calm.
Almost amused.
He raised one hand.
Every weapon in the hallway lowered.
I stared.
“How?”
My father whispered, “Remote command.”
Sloane stepped inside.
Two men followed him.
No uniforms.
No insignia.
Just black suits.
He looked at my father.
“Still pretending.”
My father stood.
“You're not taking her.”
Sloane smiled.
“You already gave her to me.”
I stepped forward.
“You're not my father.”
Sloane turned.
“No?”
“You wanted me to think you were.”
“I am.”
“Biologically.”
“Yes.”
“That doesn't make you anything else.”
He smiled.
“That's the mistake people make.”
“What mistake?”
“Thinking blood is meaningless.”
He walked closer.
“Blood is memory.”
I shook my head.
“That's not science.”
“Northstar isn't science.”
He looked at my father.
“It's inheritance.”
My father raised his weapon.
Sloane didn't move.
“Shoot.”
My father didn't.
Sloane smiled.
“Exactly.”
I looked between them.
“Why are you doing this?”
Sloane turned toward me.
“Because you rejected the succession.”
“Yes.”
“You thought refusal would destroy the system.”
“It should.”
“It doesn't.”
He pointed upward.
“Northstar was never stored in one place.”
“So where is it?”
“In people.”
I stared.
“What people?”
“Every person who benefited from it.”
“That could be hundreds.”
“Thousands.”
I felt sick.
“Then you can't control them.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“But I can control the structure connecting them.”
My father said, “You can't.”
Sloane laughed.
“You taught me better.”
He turned toward the glass wall.
Behind it were screens.
Dozens.
Each showed an individual.
Some military.
Some government.
Some corporate.
Some judges.
Some journalists.
Some people I recognized.
One face made me freeze.
My own commanding officer from years earlier.
Another was a senator.
Another was a federal judge.
Another was a general.
Sloane said, “Northstar survived every investigation because people believed it was one organization.”
“It isn't.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“It is a relationship.”
My father said, “You're trying to own the relationships.”
“I already do.”
I stared at the screens.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
My mother appeared on one of the monitors.
I froze.
She was in a room somewhere.
Alive.
Sloane noticed.
“You see?”
“Let her go.”
“She made a choice.”
“She was forced.”
“No.”
He looked almost offended.
“She signed.”
My mother shook her head on the screen.
“Don't listen to him.”
Sloane smiled.
“Your mother understands contracts.”
I looked at my father.
“You told me there was a legal authority.”
“Yes.”
“You said it belonged to my family.”
“Yes.”
“Then show me.”
My father hesitated.
Sloane laughed.
“Do you want to know the truth?”
I turned to him.
“Yes.”
“The authority isn't held by blood.”
He pointed at the two Silver Stars on the table.
“It is held by whoever can prove the bloodline.”
I looked at them.
“And I can.”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you need me?”
“Because I can't.”
I understood.
“You have my blood.”
“Yes.”
“But you don't have me.”
“Not yet.”
I stepped toward him.
“You think I'm going to give you the authorization.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I think you're going to take it from me.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“You're going to become successor.”
“No.”
“You'll dismantle Northstar from inside.”
I stared.
“And you think I'll trust you?”
“I don't need you to.”
He stepped closer.
“I need you angry.”
My father moved.
Sloane raised his hand.
The men behind him aimed.
“Stay where you are.”
I looked at Sloane.
“You orchestrated my entire life.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my career.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated my family.”
“Yes.”
“You used Evan.”
“Yes.”
“You nearly killed my mother.”
His smile disappeared.
“No.”
He glanced at the screen.
“Someone else did that.”
I froze.
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
“Sloane.”
He smiled again.
“You're finally asking the right question.”
My mother shouted through the screen.
“Mara, listen to me!”
I turned.
“Mom?”
She looked terrified.
“Your father doesn't want you to know who really ordered my shooting.”
I stared at Gabriel.
He went pale.
My mother continued.
“Because it wasn't Sloane.”
My father closed his eyes.
Then the lights went out.
A gunshot echoed.
The screen shattered.
Someone screamed.
I grabbed the Silver Stars.
When the lights returned, Sloane was gone.
And my father was on the floor.
Blood spread across his chest.
I dropped beside him.
“Dad.”
He grabbed my wrist.
“Don't trust—”
He coughed.
“—the third.”
“What third?”
He looked toward the broken screen.
May you like
“The third founder.”
Then he passed out.
