PART 2 — THE BILLIONAIRE'S SECRET
Margaret stood beneath the ballroom chandelier, wearing an elegant ivory suit, a diamond necklace, and the same unmistakable silver-gray hair I had brushed away from her burned neck. Two security officers and Daniel Price stood behind her. My mouth fell open. “Margaret?” Vanessa staggered backward. “No. That’s impossible.” Ethan released Vanessa’s arm and rushed...
PART 2
"...Major Elena Cole."
The anchor’s voice echoed like a gunshot in the dead silent living room. On the screen, the footage cut to a weeping mother holding an infant. "If not for Major Cole," the woman sobbed through a translator, "we would all be dead. She gave us our lives."
Morgan’s jaw unhinged. The plastic TV remote slipped from her...
PART 2 — THE SECRETS BEHIND MY SILENCE
“The aircraft could have departed nine minutes earlier,” the anchor said, “but Major Porter kept it on the runway so forty stranded civilians could reach safety.” Footage showed a line of people hurrying toward our C-17, each one guided by my crew. Across the operation, our flights helped bring 412 people to...
PART 2
"Get her a gurney! Now!" Admiral Sterling roared, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling of the auditorium.
The spell holding the room hostage shattered. Three medics rushed through the side doors with a crash cart. I didn't waste a single second looking at Vance's stunned, furious face. I vaulted over the row of chairs, grabbed the rails of...
PART 2 — THE PATIENT WHO INTERRUPTED THE ADMIRAL
Sloane let his hand fall. “Admiral, her conduct has been under review,” he began. Nathan Keene ignored the excuse. “And I remember her carrying a sailor through smoke while your report blamed the medical team.” I wanted to ask him why he hadn't spoken sooner, but Henry Dalton slid sideways in...
PART 2 — THE PATIENT WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
“WHO SENT YOU? ANSWER ME!” Richard Voss grabbed the back of my wheelchair and spun it away from the computer. My shoulder struck the doorframe, sending pain through my arm. “Get your hands off her!” Ethan shouted, pulling Richard backward by his jacket. Richard stumbled into a rolling instrument cart. Metal...
PART 2 — THE SECRET BEHIND THE LOCKED DOOR
“NOBODY LEAVES THIS ROOM!” Richard repeated, blocking the door while Daniel stood over Noah with his security radio raised. “Marcus says we keep everyone here until he arrives.”
I looked directly at Richard. “You're committing unlawful imprisonment.” He laughed nervously. “And you're trespassing.” Noah struggled upright, one hand pressed against his injured...
PART 2 — THE PHOENIX DECEPTION
“Nobody leaves alive!”
The voice echoed through the darkness. I lunged toward Sarah just as a gunshot shattered the glass above us. We hit the concrete together. She grabbed my bleeding blouse. “Jade, you're hurt!” “Later!” I dragged her behind a steel refrigeration unit while bullets struck the wall. Tommy screamed something about a sniper....
PART 2 — THE SECRET BEHIND THE GENERAL'S DESK
“MOVE, GENERAL!” I shouted as the countdown dropped to fifty-three seconds. Kellerman caught my arm again. “Nobody leaves until I understand what's happening!” I twisted free and pushed past him, but the office door refused to open. The electronic lock had engaged. Major Brooks slammed his shoulder against it. Nothing. “The...
