Chapter 10 - The Last Secret
The damaged helicopter plummets through the stormy sky, caught in an unstoppable death spiral.
Hadrian fights the useless controls, relying purely on instinct to level the crashing aircraft.
The Fiancée screams in terror, tumbling helplessly into the back of the cabin as gravity fails her.
Sorrel bravely covers her head with her hands, trusting her father completely to save them.
At the last possible second, Hadrian pulls the nose up, softening the catastrophic impact.
The helicopter violently slams belly-first into a massive, surging ocean wave.
Freezing water instantly floods the shattered cabin, pulling the heavy machine down into the dark depths.
Hadrian unbuckles his harness and grabs a self-inflating emergency life raft from the overhead compartment.
He kicks out the broken windshield and swims out into the freezing, turbulent sea with Sorrel.
He pulls the cord, and the yellow raft instantly explodes open on the surface of the water.
He tosses his coughing daughter inside and turns back to see the helicopter sinking fast.
The Fiancée thrashes wildly against the window, trapped under the rushing water by a jammed seatbelt.
Hadrian hesitates for a fraction of a second, watching the wicked woman drown in her own greed.
With a heavy sigh, he dives back down, shatters the remaining glass, and cuts her free with his tactical knife.
He drags her limp, coughing body up to the surface and throws her into the life raft.
Suddenly, a massive, blinding spotlight cuts through the heavy fog and rain.
A heavily armed Coast Guard cutter pulls up beside them, sirens blaring and sailors throwing down rescue ropes.
The authorities quickly pull them aboard, wrapping them in warm blankets and administering emergency medical aid.
Federal agents are already waiting on the ship, having intercepted the smartwatch audio that Hadrian transmitted right before the crash.
The Fiancée is immediately placed in heavy iron shackles, screaming in defeat as she is dragged to the brig.
Her entire corrupt empire crumbles overnight, ending in a lifetime sentence in a maximum-security federal prison.
Six months later, Hadrian and Sorrel walk happily into a beautiful, quiet new house in a peaceful suburb.
The terrible scars have finally healed, and the dark nightmare is completely behind them.
Hadrian tucks Sorrel into her warm bed, kissing her gently on the forehead as she falls asleep smiling.
He walks into his private study and picks up a beautiful framed photo of his late wife.
Suddenly, his cell phone rings with an untraceable, heavily encrypted foreign number.
May you like
He answers the call, and a voice completely identical to his dead wife whispers through the speaker.
"They missed the real secret."
