Chapter 5 - THE FIRST LIE
I moved before the attacker did.
I turned.
Blocked the arm.
The weapon hit the floor.
A man stepped backward.
Not security.
Not Kane’s men.
Someone else.
“Wait!”
I recognized his face.
Lieutenant Mason Reed.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked terrified.
“I was trying to stop you.”
“From finding the truth?”
“No.”
He looked at the walls.
“From getting killed.”
I stared at him.
“You knew about Deck Four.”
His silence answered for him.
“How long?”
“Eighteen months.”
“And you did nothing?”
His eyes dropped.
“I tried.”
“Tried?”
His voice broke.
“You don’t understand what happened here.”
“Then explain.”
Reed swallowed.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“Deck Four wasn’t an accident.”
I waited.
“What was it?”
He looked toward the door.
Like he was afraid someone would hear.
Then he whispered:
“Colonel Kane didn’t cause the disaster.”
My eyebrows tightened.
“Then who did?”
Reed looked at me.
And the fear in his eyes was real.
“Someone above him.”
Before I could ask another question…
the lights went out.
The entire deck went black.
Then the ship’s emergency alarm started screaming.
And from the darkness…
May you like
someone whispered:
“Welcome back to Deck Four, Hannah.”
