Chapter 3 - UNWELCOMED TRUTHS
A suffocating, heavy silence descended upon the broken living room.
The flashing green numbers on the Admiral’s black receiver cast an eerie glow across Ethan’s bruised face.
Ethan stared at the screen, his dark eyes widening in genuine, unscripted shock.
"That's impossible," Ethan stammered, his voice losing its arrogant, vicious edge.
"The signal was supposed to be masked by the local repeater."
"You were lied to," Admiral Vance Miller said, his tone cold and unyielding as steel.
"You were given a level-four naval override code to execute a personal vendetta."
"And the moment you used it, you triggered a automatic trace back to the transmitter."
Rachel pulled Lily closer against her hip, her heart beating frantically against her ribs.
"Dad, what are you saying?" Rachel asked, her voice trembling with rising dread.
"Who gave him that code in the first place?"
"Someone who wanted to make sure you couldn't call for help," the Admiral answered, turning to look at her.
"Someone who wanted Ethan to finish his task without any outside interference."
Ethan struggled against the iron grip of the two tactical officers holding his arms behind his back.
"I didn't ask for any of this!" Ethan yelled, his face contorting with desperate anger.
"They came to me three weeks ago!"
"They told me you were investigating my family's firm for treason!"
"They said if I didn't get your private operational files from Rachel's safe, I would go down with them!"
The man in the blue raincoat stepped forward, his expression remaining entirely stone-faced.
"Names, Ethan," the agent commanded in a low, dangerous voice.
"Give us the names of your handlers right now."
Ethan spat blood onto the polished hardwood floor and let out a manic, dry laugh.
"If I say their names, I won't survive the night in a holding cell," Ethan sneered.
"You think you're safe inside your uniform, Admiral?"
"They are inside your building, sitting in your briefings, reading your encrypted cables!"
The Admiral didn't flinch, stepping directly into Ethan's space until they were inches apart.
"I don't care where they are hiding," the Admiral whispered, his eyes burning with lethal intent.
"You threatened my daughter and my granddaughter in their own home."
"Your life as a free man ended the second you crossed that doorway."
"Take him to the transport," the agent in the blue raincoat ordered the tactical officers.
"No local precinct, no standard military holding facility."
"Take him directly to Black-Site Delta."
Ethan’s pale face turned completely ghastly at the mention of the facility.
"You can't do that!" Ethan screamed, thrashing wildly as the officers dragged him toward the door.
"I'm a civilian citizen! I have legal rights!"
"You lost your civilian rights the moment you used classified naval codes," the agent replied coldly.
Ethan's violent screams echoed down the ruined hallway as he was dragged down the front steps.
The heavy front door frame creaked in the quiet night air as the tactical team vanished into the dark.
Rachel’s legs finally gave out, and she sank heavily into a nearby velvet armchair.
Lily sat on the floor beside her, burying her small face in her mother's lap, trembling softly.
"Dad... who is after us?" Rachel begged, looking up at the Admiral with tear-filled eyes.
"Why would anyone in Naval Command want to destroy our family?"
The Admiral slowly knelt down beside his daughter's chair, resting his large hand over hers.
"It isn't about our family, Rachel," the Admiral said softly, his voice full of solemn regret.
"It's about what your late mother discovered six years ago before her accident."
Rachel froze, her eyes widening in disbelief.
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"Mom's accident?" Rachel whispered. "You said it was a simple car crash..."
"It was never an accident," the Admiral confessed, his voice dropping into a heavy shadow.
