Chapter 5: The Enemy at the Dinner Table
The newsroom erupted.
Every television station in America carried the same live broadcast.
Charles Prescott stood behind a polished oak podium, smiling confidently as red, white, and blue banners fluttered behind him.
"My fellow Americans," he began, "our nation deserves leadership built on honesty, integrity, and family."
Claire stared at the screen.
She almost laughed.
Honesty.
Integrity.
The words sounded grotesque after watching her mother's recorded warning only moments earlier.
Richard muted the television.
"No one leaves this floor."
The analysts immediately locked every security door.
Steel shutters slid over the windows.
Monitors switched from news channels to surveillance feeds surrounding the building.
Phoenix Command had transformed from an intelligence office into a fortress.
Samuel Graves folded his arms.
"He moved faster than expected."
Richard nodded.
"He knows we've opened the Archive."
Daniel looked between them.
"How could he possibly know?"
Richard walked toward a digital map of the city.
"Because Charles Prescott has spent twenty-one years making sure he knows everything."
He pressed a button.
Dozens of red dots appeared across the map.
Banks.
Courthouses.
Television stations.
Police headquarters.
Federal offices.
Daniel frowned.
"What am I looking at?"
"Our problem."
Richard circled several locations.
"These are institutions currently controlled by Prescott's network."
Claire stared in disbelief.
"That's impossible."
Richard looked at her.
"Your father used to say the same thing."
Samuel opened another folder recovered from the flash drive.
A spreadsheet appeared.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Millions of dollars transferred through shell companies.
Judges.
Lobbyists.
Construction firms.
Private security contractors.
Then one familiar name appeared.
Evelyn Prescott.
Claire leaned closer.
"There."
Samuel clicked it.
Hundreds of transactions filled the screen.
Luxury properties.
Political donations.
Offshore accounts.
Daniel frowned.
"My mother said Evelyn inherited her fortune."
Samuel smiled bitterly.
"She inherited part of it."
"The rest was purchased."
"With blood."
Claire slowly turned toward Daniel.
"You knew her your whole life."
"I did."
"Did she ever mention my parents?"
Daniel searched his memory.
"No."
"Not once."
"What about William Ashbourne?"
Daniel's face suddenly changed.
He remembered.
"When I was sixteen..."
"My grandfather slapped me."
Claire blinked.
"For what?"
"I found an old newspaper in his study."
"It mentioned Senator William Ashbourne."
"What happened?"
Daniel swallowed.
"I asked who he was."
"And?"
"My grandfather tore the newspaper apart."
"He told me never to speak that name again."
Silence settled across the room.
Richard wasn't surprised.
"Charles erased William from history."
"He couldn't erase every memory."
One of the analysts interrupted.
"Sir."
Richard turned.
"What is it?"
"We've decrypted another file."
The monitor switched.
A handwritten journal appeared.
Emily Ashbourne's diary.
Claire's hands trembled.
Richard clicked the first unread page.
Emily's elegant handwriting filled the screen.
March 18
William says Charles is becoming desperate.
They smiled together before the cameras today.
Then Charles threatened him in the parking garage.
He said,
"Some truths are worth killing for."
Claire covered her mouth.
Daniel whispered,
"My God..."
Samuel continued reading.
March 26
Richard insists we move Claire somewhere safe.
William refuses.
He believes justice will protect us.
I wish I believed that too.
Richard lowered his head.
"I begged him."
Samuel quietly added,
"He trusted the system."
Richard's voice became heavy.
"The system betrayed him."
Claire looked toward Richard.
"You blamed yourself."
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"You've blamed yourself for twenty-one years."
His eyes filled with emotion.
"I promised your mother I'd keep everyone alive."
"You kept me alive."
"But not them."
"You couldn't have."
Richard looked away.
"I should have been on that plane."
Claire gently took his hand.
"No."
"If you had..."
"I would've grown up alone."
For the first time since the ballroom attack, Richard allowed himself to breathe.
The moment lasted only seconds.
Every monitor inside Phoenix Command suddenly flashed red.
An alarm sounded.
One analyst shouted,
"Cyberattack!"
Another yelled,
"They're inside the server!"
Samuel rushed toward the computer consoles.
"Disconnect everything!"
Too late.
Every screen turned black.
Then...
One by one...
The monitors displayed the same image.
Charles Prescott.
Not the campaign speech.
A live video.
He sat alone in a luxurious office, staring directly into the camera.
Richard's face hardened.
"How?"
Samuel whispered,
"He hacked us."
Charles smiled.
"Good afternoon, Richard."
No one spoke.
Charles continued calmly.
"I've been wondering how long it would take before you opened Emily's files."
Claire felt chills run down her spine.
He knew.
He knew everything.
Charles folded his hands.
"If Claire is watching..."
His eyes seemed to look directly into hers.
"...I hope you've inherited your mother's intelligence."
Claire instinctively stepped backward.
"You've spent your entire life believing I murdered your parents."
His smile never changed.
"You're only half right."
Every person inside Phoenix Command froze.
Richard narrowed his eyes.
"What game are you playing?"
Charles ignored him.
Instead, he reached for an old photograph sitting on his desk.
It showed William Ashbourne...
Charles Prescott...
Richard Hale...
And Samuel Graves.
All four smiling together.
Claire couldn't breathe.
"They were friends..."
Richard closed his eyes.
"We were."
Charles slowly ran a finger across the photograph.
"We built dreams together."
"We trusted each other."
"Then William found something that should have remained buried."
He looked directly into the camera again.
"I didn't kill your father, Claire."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Claire whispered,
"He's lying."
Charles smiled sadly.
"I wish I were."
Then his expression changed completely.
For the first time...
He looked afraid.
"There was someone above me."
Richard's eyes widened.
Samuel took an involuntary step backward.
Charles continued quietly,
"You've spent twenty-one years hunting the wrong monster."
He leaned closer to the camera.
His voice became barely above a whisper.
"If you want the truth..."
"Stop looking at me."
"Start looking inside Phoenix."
Richard's blood ran cold.
Samuel's face turned pale.
Claire looked from one man to the other.
"What does he mean?"
No one answered.
Because every person in the room had reached the same terrifying conclusion.
If Charles Prescott wasn't lying...
Then someone inside Phoenix Command—
Someone who had protected Claire for twenty-one years—
Had betrayed her family from the very beginning.
Before anyone could speak, the lights went out.
Emergency power failed.
The entire floor disappeared into darkness.
Then—
A single gunshot echoed from somewhere inside Phoenix Command.
Someone screamed.
Richard immediately pulled Claire behind him.
Samuel drew his pistol.
The emergency lights flickered to life.
One analyst lay motionless across a keyboard.
And on the wall behind him, written in fresh blood, were five chilling words:
May you like
"THE TRAITOR NEVER LEFT."
End of Chapter 5
