CHAPTER 9 — The Project Named After Her
The name stayed on the screen long after Victoria disappeared.
PROJECT CELESTE — PHASE TWO ACTIVATED
Three words.
Three words that somehow explained everything.
The scars.
The betrayal.
The night beneath the South China Sea.
My mother's death.
All of it was connected.
I looked at my father.
For the first time in my life...
I wasn't looking at Arthur Reed as my father.
I was looking at him as a witness.
"Tell me."
My voice was quiet.
But everyone in the room knew there was no escape anymore.
"What was Project Celeste?"
Arthur didn't answer.
That was his mistake.
Because silence had always been his weapon.
But tonight...
Silence was a confession.
Admiral Reed stepped forward.
"Arthur."
My father's eyes remained fixed on the floor.
"You don't understand what you're asking her to hear."
I stared at him.
"No."
A pause.
"I don't understand why everyone keeps deciding what I can handle."
My voice hardened.
"First my brother."
"Then Victoria."
"Now you."
I stepped closer.
"Everyone thinks they have the right to protect me from the truth."
I looked directly into his eyes.
"But nobody protected me when I was trapped inside that burning ship."
The words hit him.
Good.
Because I wanted him to remember.
Every second.
Every scream.
Every moment I waited for someone to come.
Nobody came.
Arthur finally spoke.
"Project Celeste was never meant to hurt you."
I almost laughed.
"Then why was my name on it?"
He looked away.
"Because your mother named it."
The room went silent.
My heart stopped.
"My mother?"
Arthur nodded.
"Eleanor created it."
I felt something break inside.
The woman who always protected me.
The woman who told me I could become anything.
She had created a project with my name.
Why?
Admiral Reed sat down slowly.
"I knew parts of this."
I looked at him.
"You knew?"
He lowered his eyes.
"I knew Eleanor was studying something."
"Something?"
He hesitated.
"Human decision-making under extreme pressure."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Arthur answered.
"It means your mother believed leadership couldn't be measured by intelligence alone."
A pause.
"She believed it came from sacrifice."
I stared at him.
"And she used me to prove it?"
Arthur's expression changed.
"No."
For the first time...
His answer came immediately.
"No, Celeste."
He looked at me.
"She chose you because you already were it."
Nobody spoke.
Arthur walked toward the old cabinet.
He removed a hidden key from his pocket.
A key I had never seen.
"This belonged to Eleanor."
He placed it on the table.
"She told me never to open it."
I looked at him.
"Then why didn't you?"
His face became painful.
"Because I was afraid of what I would find."
I looked at the key.
"You're afraid of the truth."
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
That answer surprised me.
Because powerful men rarely admit fear.
The key opened a hidden compartment behind the fireplace.
Inside was a small black box.
No labels.
No markings.
Just a single sentence engraved on the top.
FOR THE DAUGHTER WHO WOULD NEVER GIVE UP
My breathing stopped.
I touched the words.
My mother wrote this.
For me.
Inside were three things.
A photograph.
A letter.
A small encrypted drive.
I picked up the photograph first.
It showed my mother.
My father.
Me.
But there was something strange.
The picture was taken years before Black Tide.
And behind us...
Was a man I recognized.
Victoria Hale.
I looked at Arthur.
"She knew my mother?"
Arthur became silent.
Too silent.
I opened the letter.
My mother's handwriting.
The first line broke me.
My beautiful Celeste,
I swallowed.
If you are reading this, then I failed to keep you away from this world.
My hands trembled.
I wanted you to have a normal life.
A tear fell onto the page.
But your father and I created something dangerous.
I continued.
Not a weapon.
Not an experiment.
A test.
The letter continued.
The world is changing.
Powerful people are learning that controlling information means controlling humanity.
The Orion Foundation was supposed to protect people.
Instead, it became something else.
My eyes moved faster.
Victoria Hale wants control.
Your father wants protection.
But both of them made the same mistake.
A pause.
They forgot the most important thing.
People cannot be controlled forever.
I looked up.
Everyone was silent.
The final part of the letter was different.
The handwriting became rushed.
Like she wrote it while running out of time.
Celeste, if Black Tide happens...
My heart stopped.
She knew.
Do not trust anyone who tells you they did this to protect you.
I looked at Arthur.
My father looked away.
Your greatest enemy will not be the person who attacks you.
The next sentence was underlined.
It will be the person who convinces you they are saving you.
I turned the page.
Only one sentence remained.
The truth about Black Tide is hidden in the person who gave the order.
I looked at the file from earlier.
The forged signature.
My name.
The authorization.
Someone didn't just use my identity.
Someone wanted me to believe I had done it.
Admiral Reed picked up the encrypted drive.
"This may contain everything."
I looked at him.
"Can you open it?"
He shook his head.
"Not here."
Suddenly...
The building alarms started.
Everyone froze.
Arthur immediately looked toward the windows.
"No."
I turned.
"What?"
His face was pale.
"They found us."
Outside...
Black vehicles surrounded the property.
Men in tactical gear moved through the gates.
Not police.
Not military.
Private soldiers.
Nathan looked outside.
"Victoria."
Arthur nodded.
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"Someone worse."
A message appeared on every screen in the house.
A man's voice spoke.
Calm.
Cold.
Familiar.
"Celeste Reed."
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it once before.
On the night my ship sank.
The voice continued.
"You spent years believing your family betrayed you."
A pause.
"But you never asked the most important question."
The screens changed.
A picture appeared.
A man standing beside my younger self.
My former commanding officer.
My mentor.
The person who trained me.
Admiral Reed looked at the image.
His face lost all color.
"No..."
I turned toward him.
"Who is that?"
His voice barely came out.
"Your first commander."
A pause.
"The man who recruited you."
Another pause.
"The man who chose you for Project Celeste."
The voice on the screen laughed softly.
"Hello, Celeste."
"You finally found the beginning."
The screen displayed one final message.
PROJECT CELESTE: ORIGINAL SUBJECT — ACTIVE
I stared.
Original subject?
The room went silent.
Because suddenly...
I realized something terrifying.
May you like
I wasn't the survivor of the experiment.
I was the reason the experiment existed.
