Chapter 14 – The Founder
Chapter 14 – The Founder
The elderly man's words echoed through the underground chamber.
"Hello, granddaughter."
No one spoke.
Agent Michael Harris instantly raised his weapon.
"Don't move!"
The old man smiled as though he hadn't heard him.
He stood perfectly still beneath the emergency light.
Elegant black suit.
Silver cane.
Snow-white hair.
His posture was straight despite his age.
Most unsettling of all...
He wasn't afraid.
Not even surrounded by heavily armed FBI agents.
Emily stared at him.
"My grandfather..."
The old man nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"My name is Arthur Ashcroft."
Samuel Hayes lowered his head.
"I never thought I'd see you again."
Arthur smiled sadly.
"Neither did I, Samuel."
Benjamin Lawson looked stunned.
"Arthur Ashcroft died twenty years ago."
Arthur chuckled.
"So the newspapers claimed."
"They were quite convincing."
Agent Harris didn't lower his pistol.
"Hands where I can see them."
Arthur calmly placed both hands on top of his cane.
"I have no intention of fighting."
His blue eyes settled on Emily.
"I've waited twenty-two years for this conversation."
Emily's voice was cold.
"You called me your granddaughter."
"You also founded the organization that destroyed my family."
Arthur closed his eyes briefly.
"When I founded the Consortium..."
"...it wasn't meant to become what it is today."
Emily took one step closer.
"My parents lost everything."
"I lost my childhood."
"People died."
"Children disappeared."
"And you're telling me..."
"...it wasn't supposed to happen?"
Arthur met her gaze without looking away.
"Yes."
"And that failure belongs to me."
The bunker trembled.
Another explosion echoed somewhere deep underground.
An FBI agent shouted over the radio.
"Hostiles advancing through Sector Seven!"
Harris answered immediately.
"Hold your position!"
Arthur listened quietly.
"They're getting closer."
Emily frowned.
"You know who's attacking."
Arthur nodded.
"I know them better than anyone."
He slowly removed an old leather notebook from inside his coat.
Its cover was worn with age.
Stamped in faded gold letters were two words.
FOUNDING CHARTER
Arthur gently placed it on the operations table.
"I wrote this."
Lawson carefully opened the first page.
Inside was a photograph taken nearly forty years earlier.
Twelve young men and women stood together.
Laughing.
Smiling.
No expensive suits.
No bodyguards.
No weapons.
They looked like university classmates.
Emily immediately recognized one face.
A much younger Victoria Ashcroft.
Another...
Rebecca.
Her mother.
And beside them...
Arthur.
Arthur looked at the photograph.
"We wanted to build something."
"Something powerful enough to stop governments from starting wars."
"To prevent economic collapse."
"To protect innovation."
Professor Hughes frowned.
"So how did it become..."
"...this?"
Arthur sighed deeply.
"Power."
"Every generation believed they deserved a little more."
"A little more control."
"A few more secrets."
"Eventually..."
"...they forgot why we began."
Samuel quietly added,
"Daniel Carter tried to fix it."
Arthur nodded.
"He reminded me of my younger self."
Emily looked surprised.
"You liked my father?"
Arthur smiled.
"I loved him."
"He challenged me."
"He disagreed with me."
"He married my daughter despite knowing exactly who we were."
Arthur laughed softly.
"He was the bravest man I'd ever met."
Emily's anger briefly softened.
"If you loved him..."
"...why didn't you help him?"
Arthur's smile disappeared.
"I tried."
"But by then..."
"...I no longer controlled the Consortium."
The room fell silent.
Emily frowned.
"You were the founder."
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"I resigned."
Everyone stared.
"When?"
"The night Rebecca left."
Arthur looked toward the old photograph again.
"The moment my daughter chose love over power..."
"...I realized she was stronger than I had ever been."
He smiled sadly.
"So I chose my family."
"But someone else chose my empire."
Agent Harris narrowed his eyes.
"Victoria."
Arthur nodded.
"My eldest daughter."
Emily clenched her fists.
"So Victoria took over."
"Not immediately."
Arthur's expression darkened.
"Someone else helped her."
Samuel suddenly looked alarmed.
"The Thirteenth Circle."
Arthur nodded once.
"They approached Victoria long before Daniel ever discovered them."
Emily struggled to keep up.
"So..."
"The Thirteenth Circle didn't infiltrate the Consortium after it became corrupt?"
Arthur answered quietly.
"No."
"They helped corrupt it."
Lawson whispered,
"My God..."
Arthur walked slowly toward the central computer.
Without asking permission...
He typed six numbers.
The computer immediately unlocked.
Every monitor in Room E-12 changed.
A classified organizational chart appeared.
Phoenix Consortium.
Twelve founding families.
Most of the names were familiar.
Ashcroft.
Bennett.
Caldwell.
Montgomery.
Then...
A hidden layer appeared beneath the chart.
No family names.
Only code names.
RAVEN
SPECTER
JUDGE
ORACLE
And at the very top...
One title.
THE ARCHITECT
Emily stared at it.
"Who's the Architect?"
Arthur became very quiet.
"I've never seen his face."
Even Harris looked surprised.
"You don't know?"
Arthur shook his head.
"I founded the Consortium."
"But someone else..."
"...built the Thirteenth Circle."
A sudden gunshot echoed outside the room.
An FBI agent was thrown backward through the doorway.
He hit the floor hard.
The tactical team immediately opened fire.
Automatic weapons roared through the corridor.
The attackers had reached Room E-12.
Harris shouted,
"Fall back!"
Steel desks were overturned for cover.
Glass shattered.
Bullets ripped through computer monitors.
The operations center descended into chaos.
Samuel grabbed Emily.
"There's another exit!"
Arthur shook his head.
"No."
"Not yet."
He pointed toward the notebook.
"Take it."
Emily hesitated.
"What is it?"
"The only handwritten record of everything."
"The original member list."
"The bank accounts."
"The hidden companies."
"The names of every politician we ever controlled."
Lawson's eyes widened.
"That's enough evidence to destroy the Consortium."
Arthur nodded.
"And everyone protecting it."
Emily reached for the notebook.
The moment she touched it...
Another hidden compartment opened beneath the table.
Inside lay a single envelope.
Across the front...
Daniel Carter's handwriting.
It read:
To My Daughter
Emily slowly picked it up.
Her hands trembled.
The envelope had never been opened.
Arthur smiled gently.
"He left that for you."
Before Emily could break the seal—
The bunker lights suddenly returned.
Every monitor switched to a live security feed.
Not the attackers.
Not Victoria.
Instead...
A prison cell.
Richard Bennett appeared on screen.
His shirt was soaked with blood.
He looked directly into the camera.
Someone was forcing him to speak.
Behind him...
A shadowy figure rested a pistol against his head.
Richard took a shaky breath.
Then looked straight at Emily.
"Evelyn... don't believe Arthur."
The masked figure cocked the pistol.
Richard closed his eyes.
Then shouted with every ounce of strength he had left:
"HE WAS THE ONE WHO BETRAYED YOUR PARENTS!"
May you like
The screen instantly went black.
End of Chapter 14
