Chapter 7: The Third Survivor
Callahan refused to believe the photograph.
He stared at it until the pixels blurred.
“That’s not possible.””
Michael Carter looked equally stunned.
“She wasn’t there.””
Callahan turned.
“You said there were three survivors.””
“I didn’t say who the third one was.””
“You knew?””
Carter’s silence was enough.
Callahan grabbed his arm.
“You knew my daughter was connected to this.””
“Not like this.””
“Then explain.””
Carter looked at the photograph again.
“I thought she was investigating it.””
“Investigating what?””
“The truth about her mother.””
The words stopped Callahan.
“My wife?””
Carter nodded.
Callahan stepped back.
His wife, Laura, had died fifteen years ago.
A heart condition.
At least, that was what he had been told.
“What does Laura have to do with Black Current?””
Carter looked away.
“Everything.””
The facility lights flickered.
A hidden speaker activated.
Daniel Voss’s voice returned.
“Admiral, I think it’s time you learned what your family sacrificed.””
Callahan shouted toward the ceiling.
“Where is my daughter?””
No answer.
Then a door opened behind them.
A woman stepped inside.
Elizabeth.
Alive.
Callahan froze.
For a moment, he forgot everything.
The mission.
The betrayal.
The secrets.
Only his daughter existed.
“Dad.””
He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.
Then he stepped back.
His expression changed.
“Why?””
Elizabeth looked down.
“Because I knew you would never stop looking.””
“You lied to me.””
“Yes.””
“You knew Carter was alive.””
“Yes.””
“You knew about Black Current.””
“Yes.””
Every answer hurt.
But then she said:
“I knew because Mom told me.””
Callahan went still.
The world seemed to tilt.
“What?””
Elizabeth swallowed.
“Mom survived too.””
“No.””
“She was the third survivor.””
Carter looked at Elizabeth.
“I didn’t know.””
“I know.””
Callahan shook his head.
“Your mother died.””
Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears.
“That’s what they wanted you to believe.””
The room went silent.
Memories attacked him.
Laura standing at the airport before his deployment.
Laura telling him to come home.
Laura smiling while hiding pain.
He had mourned her.
He had carried that loss.
But now…
“No.””
Elizabeth stepped closer.
“She found out who betrayed Black Current.””
“Your mother was never on that ship.””
“She was.””
Callahan stared.
“She was the intelligence officer assigned to monitor the mission.””
Carter looked shocked.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Elizabeth answered quietly.
“Because she loved you.””
The room became painfully quiet.
Then a sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
A man entered.
Older.
Silver hair.
Military posture.
Callahan knew him instantly.
Admiral Jonathan Pierce.
The man who had approved Black Current.
The man who had signed Carter’s death certificate.
The man who had attended Laura’s funeral.
Callahan’s voice was barely a whisper.
“You.””
Pierce smiled sadly.
“I hoped you would never find this place.””
Carter stepped forward.
“You killed everyone.””
Pierce looked at him.
“No.””
A pause.
“I saved the Navy.””
Callahan’s anger exploded.
“You destroyed lives.””
Pierce looked at him.
“Richard, you still think this was about one mission.””
He placed a folder on the table.
“It wasn’t.””
Callahan opened it.
Inside were decades of classified reports.
Evidence.
Names.
Operations.
Corruption.
And at the top of the first page:
*Project Ghost Trident.*
Pierce spoke quietly.
“Black Current was the beginning.””
Callahan looked up.
“What was the end?””
May you like
Pierce’s expression turned serious.
“Tomorrow.””
