CHAPTER 10 — THE MAN WHO KILLED MY FATHER
The words echoed through the underground archive.
"He was murdered."
For several long seconds, Harrison couldn't breathe.
He stared at Edward Harrington, searching the older man's face for any sign of deception.
There was none.
Daniel Ross instinctively stepped in front of Harrison.
"You expect us to believe that?"
Edward's expression remained calm.
"I expect nothing."
He slowly raised both hands.
"I'm not armed."
"If I wanted either of you dead..."
He glanced toward the hidden security cameras mounted high above the steel beams.
"...you never would have reached this room."
Harrison followed his gaze.
At least a dozen cameras watched every corner of the underground archive.
Whoever controlled Project Haven had known they were coming.
Yet no one had tried to stop them.
That alone told Harrison something important.
Edward wanted this meeting.
Harrison finally spoke.
"My father died in a car accident."
Edward slowly shook his head.
"That's what the police reported."
"My father was an accountant."
"He was much more than that."
Edward walked toward a large steel cabinet marked 1999.
Using an old brass key hanging from his neck, he unlocked it.
Inside were hundreds of carefully preserved files.
He pulled out one thick folder.
Across the cover, written in black ink, were two words:
James Cole
Harrison felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Edward handed him the file.
"I've kept this for twenty-five years."
His hands trembled as he opened it.
The first page was a photograph.
His father.
Smiling.
Standing beside Edward Harrington.
The date was six months before his death.
The next page contained employment records.
Position: Chief Forensic Accountant — Project Haven
Harrison stared in disbelief.
"My father worked for you?"
Edward answered quietly.
"He worked with me."
Another document followed.
Handwritten audit notes.
James Cole had uncovered millions of dollars in illegal transfers connected to Project Haven.
The final page stopped Harrison cold.
It was a letter.
Unsigned.
Addressed to Edward.
Edward,
If anything happens to me, promise me one thing.
Protect my wife. Protect my son.
The Founder already knows I found the truth.
I don't think I'll survive this week.
— James
Harrison's vision blurred.
His father had known.
He had known he was going to die.
"You let him die."
The words came out barely above a whisper.
Edward closed his eyes.
"I tried to save him."
"You failed."
"Yes."
Silence filled the chamber.
"I've regretted it every day since."
Harrison clenched the letter.
"Who killed him?"
Edward looked directly into his eyes.
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I know who ordered it."
"Then tell me."
Edward hesitated.
"Because I never saw the person's face."
Daniel frowned.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Edward walked slowly through the archive.
"The Founder never appears."
"Every instruction comes through intermediaries."
"Every payment passes through shell companies."
"Every witness disappears before reaching court."
He turned back toward Harrison.
"You've been fighting Richard Harrington."
He shook his head sadly.
"Richard was never your real enemy."
Miles away, Richard sat alone in the family mansion.
His mother's confession haunted him.
His father alive.
Project Haven.
The Founder.
Nothing made sense anymore.
He walked into Edward's old study.
It had remained untouched for years.
Dust covered the shelves.
Books still lined the walls.
A portrait of Edward hung above the fireplace.
Richard noticed something strange.
The portrait wasn't hanging straight.
He removed it.
Behind the frame was a small steel safe.
His pulse quickened.
The combination?
His father's birthday.
The lock clicked open.
Inside rested a single leather journal.
The first page read:
If Richard is reading this...
...then I've either disappeared or failed.
Meanwhile, Khloe was discharged from the hospital.
The nurses lined the hallway, applauding softly as she walked out carrying baby Evelyn.
She moved slowly.
Her body was still healing.
But every step forward felt like reclaiming her life.
Outside the hospital entrance, reporters waited behind police barricades.
Camera flashes lit the afternoon sky.
One reporter shouted,
"Mrs. Harrington! Do you have anything to say to your husband?"
Khloe paused.
For weeks, she had imagined this moment.
She looked down at Evelyn sleeping peacefully in her arms.
Then back at the cameras.
"My daughter deserves a future built on truth."
She spoke calmly.
"Not lies."
Another reporter called out,
"Do you hate Richard Harrington?"
Khloe thought carefully before answering.
"No."
"I pity the man he chose to become."
Her words spread across every major news network within the hour.
Back inside Project Haven, Edward led Harrison to the deepest room in the archive.
A massive steel door required both a key and a fingerprint.
When it opened, Harrison stopped in disbelief.
Thousands of videotapes.
Hard drives.
Audio recordings.
Each carefully labeled.
"This..."
Daniel whispered.
"...is enough evidence to destroy half the country."
Edward nodded.
"Which is exactly why it can never fall into the wrong hands."
Harrison turned toward him.
"Then why show it to me?"
Edward's eyes filled with quiet sorrow.
"Because I don't have much time."
He slowly unbuttoned his jacket.
Only then did Harrison notice the medical tubing beneath his shirt.
An infusion pump.
Medication.
Edward smiled faintly.
"Stage Four lung cancer."
"The doctors gave me six months."
"I've already lived eight."
Harrison remained silent.
"I spent years hiding."
"Running."
"Trying to protect my family."
Edward looked toward the endless shelves of secrets.
"But all I really protected..."
"...was fear."
Suddenly, every light inside the underground archive flickered.
The server alarms began flashing red.
Daniel checked the security monitors.
"They've cut the external power."
Emergency generators started humming.
Then another alarm sounded.
PERIMETER BREACH DETECTED
Edward's face turned pale.
"They found us."
"Who?"
Before he could answer, the security cameras switched on automatically.
More than twenty armed men dressed in black tactical gear were entering the tunnel.
Each wore identical masks.
No insignias.
No names.
Only one silver emblem on the shoulder.
A small circle surrounding the letter F.
Edward whispered one word.
"Founder's Guard."
Daniel reached for his sidearm.
"There are too many."
Harrison looked around the underground archive.
No obvious escape.
The steel door behind them slammed shut automatically.
Then a calm voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Edward Harrington."
"You've protected our secrets for eight years."
"You've failed."
The voice paused.
May you like
"And Harrison Cole..."
"...welcome to the war your father died trying to stop."
