Chapter 10 - The Last Stronghold
I froze completely as the corrupt General pressed the cold barrel of his weapon against Sloane's trembling temple.
My mind raced through a dozen tactical scenarios, but the confined space of the armored SUV severely limited my options.
General Vance was clearly one of the primary traitors listed on my father's encrypted hard drive.
He had brilliantly lured us directly into a secure, underground trap using my father's legacy as bait.
"You are a disgrace to that uniform," I told him, slowly unzipping my tactical bag.
"I am a realist, Captain," Vance sneered arrogantly.
"There are billions of dollars at stake, and one dead engineer's daughter won't stop the inevitable."
I reached my hand inside the bag and firmly grasped the heavy hard drive.
"Take it," I said, pulling the drive out and holding it toward him.
General Vance greedily reached out with his free hand to grab the priceless digital evidence.
He completely failed to notice that my other hand had subtly pulled the pin on a flash-bang grenade hidden in my pocket.
I dropped the grenade directly onto the floorboard of the SUV and violently threw myself over Sloane.
The flash-bang detonated with an absolutely blinding, deafening explosion in the tight quarters of the vehicle.
General Vance screamed in pain as his vision and hearing were completely wiped out.
I aggressively disarmed him, elbowed him brutally in the jaw, and kicked the heavy SUV door open.
I dragged Sloane out of the vehicle and sprinted toward the secure elevator bank across the garage.
I used my military credentials to override the security panel and locked us safely inside the rising elevator car.
I immediately plugged the hard drive into my laptop and initiated a massive, unblockable mass-email protocol.
I sent the entire trove of classified evidence to every major news outlet, federal judge, and honest military commander in the country.
By the time the elevator reached the main lobby, General Vance's corrupt empire was already completely destroyed.
Honest federal agents swarmed the building, arresting Vance and dozens of his corrupt political conspirators.
Months later, the massive scandal had finally settled, and justice was fully served to those who murdered my father.
Victor was currently serving a lengthy sentence in federal prison for his massive fraud attempts.
My mother and Brianna were left entirely broke, facing their own accessory charges and completely cut out of my life.
Sloane successfully processed the legal paperwork to officially rebuild my father's cabin exactly where it once stood.
I proudly hung his retrieved Silver Star in a beautiful glass display case above the brand new stone fireplace.
The mountain air was finally peaceful again, and my father's brilliant legacy was completely secure forever.
As I swept the new wooden floors, my broom caught the edge of a slightly loose floorboard in the corner of the bedroom.
I curiously pried the board up and found a small, rusted metal lockbox sitting quietly in the dirt.
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Inside was a handwritten letter from my father, dated just one week before his suspicious death.
The letter read, "If you are reading this, Elena, Victor's real employers have finally made their move, and your life is in grave danger."
