Chapter 8: The Brother Who Chose Too Late
Chapter 8: The Brother Who Chose Too Late
Marcus collapsed against the wall.
A bullet had passed through his side.
Julian searched him for weapons while Celeste applied pressure to the wound.
Marcus gave her a weak smile.
“Still saving people who hate you?”
“I haven’t decided whether to save you.”
“Fair.”
Victoria knelt beside them.
“Did Dad shoot you?”
Marcus nodded.
“At the hangar.”
“Why?”
“Because Bennett was going to cooperate.”
Celeste looked up.
“You killed Harold Bennett.”
“No. Dad did.”
Marcus winced as Celeste tightened the bandage.
“He poisoned Bennett in the car. I tried to stop him. We fought. Dad shot me and left me in the hangar.”
“You expect us to believe you suddenly developed a conscience?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Marcus looked toward the ledger.
“I came because Northstar is moving the remaining Vale assets.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Celeste pressed harder on his wound.
Marcus gasped.
“Try again.”
“Singapore accounts. Swiss trusts. Cryptocurrency wallets. Dad has access codes.”
“And Northstar?”
Marcus’s face tightened.
“Northstar owns judges, military contractors, intelligence consultants. Arthur isn’t their leader. He’s an asset.”
Admiral Reed stepped forward.
“Who recruited him?”
Marcus looked at the admiral.
“You already know.”
The tower became silent.
Celeste slowly stood.
“What does he mean?”
Reed’s face revealed nothing.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Ask your hero about Operation Winter Glass.”
Celeste looked at Reed.
The mission beneath the South China Sea had carried that classified name.
“You told me the mission records were sealed for national security.”
“They were.”
“Was Northstar involved?”
Reed hesitated.
That hesitation hurt more than an answer.
“Admiral.”
Reed lowered his weapon.
“Twelve years ago, naval intelligence identified possible contractor sabotage within the fleet. Northstar was one of several suspected networks.”
“And you sent my submarine into the South China Sea using steel supplied by a suspected company?”
“We did not know Vale Meridian was connected.”
“But you knew the materials might be compromised.”
“We knew there was a possibility.”
Celeste stepped away from him.
“You used us as bait.”
“No. The mission had legitimate strategic objectives.”
“You knew.”
“I knew there was a risk.”
“You stood in that ballroom and saluted me.”
“Because you saved ninety-three sailors.”
“You let us sail.”
Reed’s voice broke slightly.
“I have carried that decision every day.”
Celeste stared at the man she had trusted more than her own father.
Another authority figure had decided that her life was an acceptable cost.
Marcus watched them with satisfaction.
“Heroes are just liars with better uniforms.”
Celeste turned and struck him across the face.
His head snapped sideways.
“Do not confuse his failure with your crimes.”
Marcus tasted blood.
“There she is.”
Celeste looked at Reed.
“We finish this conversation later.”
A federal medic entered and treated Marcus.
The sniper had disappeared.
Agents found a black compass symbol etched into the cliffside shooting position.
Northstar knew about the lighthouse.
They knew about the ledger.
That meant someone inside the investigation was leaking information.
Julian secured the evidence.
Marcus was placed on a stretcher.
Before the medics carried him away, he grabbed Celeste’s wrist.
“Dad has one weakness.”
“What?”
“He thinks family belongs to him.”
“That isn’t a weakness.”
“It is when someone leaves.”
Marcus’s gaze shifted toward Victoria.
“He will come for her.”
Victoria went pale.
“Why me?”
“Because you know about the medication. And because you’re the only one he thinks he can still control.”
Celeste removed Marcus’s hand.
“Where would he take her?”
Marcus whispered two words.
“Meridian House.”
Celeste knew the name.
It was Arthur’s private estate outside Washington, officially sold years earlier.
“What’s there?”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“The room where Northstar keeps its records.”
Federal agents transported him down the stairs.
Celeste turned to Victoria.
“You stay with the protective detail.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I’m going with you.”
“No.”
“I helped poison Mom.”
“You were manipulated.”
“I still did it.”
“This is not redemption. This is a tactical operation.”
Victoria’s chin lifted.
“For once in my life, let me choose the right side.”
Before Celeste could answer, every phone in the lighthouse buzzed at once.
A video appeared on the screens.
Arthur sat behind a desk in a dark room.
Dr. Keller stood beside him.
Arthur looked directly into the camera.
“Celeste, bring me the ledger by sunset.”
He reached off-screen and pulled someone into view.
Samuel Price.
The missing accountant was alive.
His face was bruised.
May you like
Arthur placed a gun against his head.
“Or the last man who can prove your mother was murdered dies with the truth.”
