chapter twenty eight
378 Words
Project Phoenix
The name on the folder refused to leave Victor's mind.
PROJECT PHOENIX.
He slowly opened it again.
Sophia stepped closer.
"So... are you finally going to tell me?"
Victor smirked.
"Not yet."
He slid a yellowed document across the table.
"This project began over twenty years ago."
Sophia picked it up.
At the bottom of the page was the signature of Ethan's late father.
Her eyes widened.
"The former chairman?"
Victor nodded.
"He buried the truth before he died."
"And Maya?"
Victor's smile deepened.
"She was part of it from the very beginning."
Back at the Carter mansion...
Maya couldn't stop thinking about the strange feeling that someone had been watching her.
She stood by her bedroom window, staring into the darkness outside.
A gentle knock came at the door.
"Ethan?"
He walked in, carrying two cups of hot chocolate.
"I figured neither of us is sleeping tonight."
She laughed softly.
"You know me too well."
He handed her a cup.
Their fingers brushed.
Even the smallest touch now made her heart race.
They sat together on the couch.
For a while, they simply enjoyed the quiet.
Then Ethan spoke.
"I've spent years chasing enemies."
He looked into her eyes.
"But losing you scares me more than any of them."
Maya reached for his hand.
"You won't lose me."
"No matter what happens..."
"We'll face it together."
Ethan smiled and gently kissed her forehead.
"I like the sound of that."
Meanwhile...
Ryan remained in the mansion's security room.
He replayed the missing two minutes of surveillance for the tenth time.
Nothing.
Until...
A faint reflection appeared in one frame.
Someone wearing black gloves.
Only a second.
But enough to notice one thing.
A silver ring engraved with the image of a phoenix.
Ryan froze.
"I've seen that ring before..."
Before he could remember where...
The monitors suddenly went black.
Every screen.
Every camera.
A message appeared in glowing red letters.
PHOENIX HAS RISEN.
At that exact moment...
The lights throughout the Carter mansion went out.
Darkness swallowed the estate.
From somewhere inside the mansion...
A woman screamed.
Ethan shot to his feet.
"Maya, stay behind me!"
But before either of them could move—
A gunshot echoed through the darkness.
Bang!
The mansion fell deathly silent.
- Writer
