CHAPTER 8 — The Signature That Should Not Exist
The room stopped breathing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The file sat on the table between us.
A thin folder.
A few pages.
A signature.
But somehow...
It felt heavier than anything I had ever carried.
I stared at the name printed beneath the authorization line.
COMMAND APPROVAL: CELESTE REED
My name.
My signature.
My entire world tilted.
"No."
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Admiral Reed looked at me carefully.
"I knew you would say that."
I grabbed the file.
My hands moved faster than my thoughts.
I read it again.
And again.
The signature looked real.
The identification code matched.
The authorization stamp was genuine.
Everything said one thing.
I approved the mission that nearly killed my own crew.
But I knew the truth.
I never signed it.
Arthur stepped closer.
His face was pale.
"Give me that."
I pulled the file away.
"No."
His expression changed.
For once...
He wasn't my father.
He wasn't the billionaire.
He wasn't the man who controlled everyone.
He was someone terrified of what was inside that folder.
"Celeste."
My voice hardened.
"How long have you known about this?"
Silence.
That was his answer.
Admiral Reed looked at Arthur.
"You knew?"
Arthur didn't respond.
The admiral's expression turned cold.
"You knew there was a forged authorization under her name?"
Arthur finally spoke.
"I suspected."
I laughed.
A quiet, broken laugh.
"You suspected?"
I looked at him.
"My name was used to send people into a death trap."
A pause.
"My crew almost died."
I held up the document.
"And you suspected?"
Arthur looked down.
"I was trying to find the person responsible."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You were trying to protect yourself."
The silence afterward was unbearable.
Because nobody could deny it.
Admiral Reed took the file from me.
He examined the pages carefully.
"This isn't just a forgery."
I looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
He pointed at the signature.
"Whoever created this had access to your military credentials."
A pause.
"Your command codes."
My stomach tightened.
"Only a few people had that."
Admiral Reed nodded.
"Exactly."
A list appeared in my mind.
My commanding officers.
My team.
My family.
People I trusted.
People who knew me.
"Someone close to me did this."
Admiral Reed didn't answer.
Because we both knew.
That was the worst possibility.
Nathan suddenly appeared at the doorway.
Everyone turned.
He looked exhausted.
"I know who."
My eyes narrowed.
"You?"
He stepped inside.
"I know who had access."
Arthur's expression hardened.
"Nathan."
"No."
Nathan interrupted.
"I'm done protecting secrets."
That surprised everyone.
Especially me.
He walked toward the table.
"Victoria Hale didn't do everything alone."
He looked at the file.
"She needed someone inside."
I watched him carefully.
"Who?"
Nathan hesitated.
Then said:
"Someone from the Reed family."
The room went silent.
Arthur's voice became dangerous.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Nathan looked at him.
"Why?"
A bitter smile appeared.
"Because you spent my entire life teaching me that the truth only matters when it benefits you."
Arthur looked away.
Nathan continued.
"The person who accessed Celeste's military records..."
He swallowed.
"Was Mother."
My heart stopped.
"Eleanor?"
Nathan nodded.
"No."
His voice cracked.
"Not our mother."
A pause.
"Someone using her identity."
Admiral Reed immediately stood.
"Impossible."
Nathan looked at him.
"Is it?"
He placed another document on the table.
"Because I found this three years ago."
I opened it.
A transfer record.
A private account.
A hidden organization.
The name at the top:
THE ORION FOUNDATION
I frowned.
"What is this?"
Nathan answered quietly.
"The organization that funded Black Tide."
Arthur stared at the document.
"No."
I looked at him.
"You know it."
He didn't answer.
Admiral Reed stepped closer.
"Arthur."
His voice was different.
Not accusing.
Not angry.
Concerned.
"Tell her."
Arthur closed his eyes.
For several seconds...
He looked like a man fighting against decades of secrets.
Finally...
He spoke.
"The Orion Foundation was created by your grandfather."
I froze.
"My grandfather?"
Arthur nodded.
"It started as a humanitarian organization."
A pause.
"Then it changed."
"Into what?"
Arthur looked at me.
"An intelligence network."
The room became colder.
"Families."
"Governments."
"Corporations."
A pause.
"They collected information on everyone."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
His answer was quiet.
"Control."
Suddenly...
The lights flickered.
Everyone froze.
Admiral Reed immediately reached for his phone.
"Security."
No signal.
The cameras in the room turned on.
Static filled the screens.
Then...
A woman's face appeared.
Victoria Hale.
She smiled.
"Family reunions are always emotional."
Arthur stepped forward.
"Victoria."
She smiled wider.
"Arthur."
I stared at the screen.
"You framed me."
Victoria tilted her head.
"No."
A pause.
"I revealed you."
My eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Victoria leaned closer.
"You still believe you were just a soldier."
Silence.
"You weren't."
My heart started racing.
"What are you talking about?"
Victoria smiled.
"Ask your father what happened the night Eleanor died."
Arthur's face changed.
"Don't."
Victoria ignored him.
"Ask him why your mother discovered the truth."
A pause.
"Ask him why she chose you."
The screen flickered.
Then one final message appeared.
PROJECT CELESTE — PHASE TWO ACTIVATED
My blood ran cold.
Project.
Celeste.
My name.
I looked at my father.
"What's Project Celeste?"
Arthur said nothing.
And that was the answer.
Victoria's voice returned.
"The truth is coming, Celeste."
"You wanted to know why you survived Black Tide?"
A pause.
"Because you were never the target."
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
Then Admiral Reed whispered:
"Project Celeste..."
He looked at me.
"I thought it was destroyed."
I stared at him.
"What was it?"
His answer came slowly.
"The reason your mother was killed."
The room fell silent.
Because suddenly...
The scars on my body weren't just from a mission.
They were from a secret.
A secret my family had spent years burying.
May you like
And now...
It was coming back.
