Chapter 12 - The Ghost Protocol
I walked slowly back to the beautiful beach house, a terrifying storm raging violently inside my mind.
Grace was sitting happily on the back patio, helping Lily build a massive castle out of wooden blocks.
The pure, innocent joy radiating from their smiling faces completely shattered my heart.
I had promised them we were finally safe, and now the greatest monster of all had returned from the grave.
I walked through the sliding glass doors, immediately forcing a warm, reassuring smile onto my face.
Grace looked up, her beautiful green eyes instantly reading the hidden tension in my rigid posture.
She stood up quickly, wiping her hands on her jeans and asking me what was wrong.
I refused to lie to her ever again.
I pulled the crumpled note and the photograph from my pocket and placed them gently onto the kitchen island.
Grace read the terrible words, her hands trembling violently as she dropped the paper.
She looked at me in absolute, unfiltered horror.
I pulled her tightly into my chest, kissing the top of her head as she began to cry.
I swore on my life that I would never let him touch a single hair on their heads.
I told her we needed to pack our bags immediately.
We could not stay in this exposed, beautiful glass house for another minute.
I walked directly to my private office and opened a hidden wall safe.
I pulled out a heavy satellite phone and dialed a highly encrypted military frequency.
I was calling Team Echo, my elite squad of private military contractors who had saved me on the highway months ago.
The squad leader, a towering, battle-hardened veteran named Jax, answered on the first ring.
I told Jax that the primary target was my own father and that we were officially operating at war status.
Jax did not ask a single unnecessary question.
He simply told me the extraction helicopter would land on my private beach in exactly twenty minutes.
I grabbed my heavy tactical gear and a customized assault rifle from the biometric weapons locker.
Grace had already packed two small duffel bags, her face a mask of fierce, unyielding maternal determination.
She held Lily tightly against her chest, whispering soft, comforting words to keep the toddler calm.
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The deafening roar of heavy rotor blades echoed over the ocean as a black, unmarked helicopter descended rapidly toward the sand.
We were leaving our beautiful dream home to plunge directly back into a living nightmare.
