Chapter 15: Project Crown
869 Words
The explosion threw everyone to the ground.
Ava felt the force hit her chest like a hammer.
The warehouse trembled violently.
Metal beams groaned overhead.
Concrete cracked.
Glass shattered.
Screams echoed through the darkness.
"Ethan!"
Dust filled the air.
For several terrifying seconds, Ava couldn't see anything.
Couldn't hear anything except the ringing in her ears.
Then a familiar voice reached her.
"Ava!"
Relief flooded through her.
"I'm here!"
Strong hands grabbed her shoulders.
Ethan.
Alive.
She hadn't realized how terrified she was until that moment.
A second explosion echoed from the far side of the building.
The warehouse shook again.
This time harder.
"We have to move!" Olivia shouted.
Security officers were already rushing people toward an emergency exit.
Chaos erupted everywhere.
Richard Voss was gone.
Vanished.
Again.
---
Twenty minutes later, flashing police lights illuminated the harbor.
Paramedics treated minor injuries.
Officers searched the wreckage.
News helicopters circled overhead.
The entire city would know about the explosion by morning.
Ava sat inside an ambulance while a medic examined a cut on her forehead.
Her eyes remained fixed on Ethan.
He stood several feet away speaking with detectives.
Victoria sat nearby wrapped in a blanket.
Still alive.
Still shaken.
Still hiding secrets.
For the first time in twenty years, mother and son were together again.
Yet neither seemed happy.
Because the reunion came with too many questions.
Too much pain.
Too much truth.
The detective eventually approached.
"Mr. Knight."
Ethan looked up.
"We searched the building."
"And?"
"No sign of Richard Voss."
Of course not.
Ava wasn't even surprised anymore.
The man always seemed to stay one step ahead.
The detective handed Ethan a sealed evidence bag.
"We did find this."
Inside was a flash drive.
Small.
Black.
Ordinary.
Yet everyone immediately knew it wasn't ordinary at all.
Not after what Richard had said.
Not after mentioning Project Crown.
---
Back at the mansion, nobody slept.
The flash drive sat on Ethan's desk.
Waiting.
Threatening.
Demanding attention.
Ava stood beside him.
Olivia sat nearby.
Victoria remained silent.
Almost afraid.
Finally, Ethan inserted the drive into his computer.
The screen flickered.
Then a video appeared.
Static filled the monitor.
A date appeared in the corner.
Seven Years Ago
The room became silent.
A man stepped into view.
Ava immediately recognized him.
Ethan's father.
The founder of Knight Industries.
The man whose death had started everything.
He looked exhausted.
Terrified.
Nothing like the confident businessman from the photographs.
"If you're watching this..."
He paused.
"...then I've probably failed."
Ethan froze.
His father's voice filled the room.
A ghost speaking from the past.
"I don't have much time."
The man glanced over his shoulder.
As though expecting someone to appear.
Someone dangerous.
"Project Crown was never supposed to exist."
Ava's heart began pounding.
The words sounded important.
Very important.
The man continued.
"The Black Crown wanted control."
A pause.
"They wanted influence."
Another pause.
"They wanted power."
His face darkened.
"But Project Crown was something else."
Nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
"The project was designed to predict and control global financial systems."
Ava frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Victoria's face turned pale.
Ethan noticed immediately.
"You know."
She slowly nodded.
The room grew colder.
Much colder.
---
The video continued.
"They created an intelligence network."
The man swallowed.
"It could manipulate markets."
Stock exchanges.
Banks.
Governments.
Entire economies.
Ava stared at the screen.
The scale sounded impossible.
Unreal.
Terrifying.
"The system became too powerful."
Fear appeared in Ethan's father's eyes.
Real fear.
"The people funding Project Crown realized they no longer needed governments."
Silence.
"They could control everything themselves."
The room felt frozen.
Ava suddenly understood why people were dying.
Why Victoria disappeared.
Why Richard Voss wanted them silenced.
Project Crown wasn't just dangerous.
It threatened everyone.
Every country.
Every institution.
Every person.
---
Then the video changed.
A file appeared on screen.
A list of names.
Dozens of names.
Politicians.
Judges.
Business leaders.
Media executives.
Powerful people.
Very powerful people.
All connected.
All involved.
Olivia looked horrified.
"My God."
The list kept scrolling.
And scrolling.
And scrolling.
Then Ethan stopped breathing.
Ava noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
He pointed at the screen.
His hand trembling.
For the first time in her life, Ava saw Ethan Knight truly shaken.
She followed his gaze.
And saw the name.
Margaret Collins.
The housekeeper.
The woman who had welcomed Ava into the mansion.
The woman who helped her.
Protected her.
Comforted her.
The woman who had been in their home the entire time.
The room went silent.
Victoria looked sick.
Olivia looked stunned.
Ava couldn't move.
Because if Margaret's name was on that list—
Then the enemy wasn't outside.
The enemy had already been inside their home.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
Almost as if on cue, the office door slowly opened.
Everyone turned.
A figure stood in the doorway.
Margaret.
Her expression unreadable.
Her eyes locked onto the screen.
Then onto the list of names.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Finally, Margaret sighed.
A long.
Tired.
Almost regretful sigh.
And then she said the words nobody expected.
"You were never supposed to find that file."
The room exploded into silence.
Because suddenly the woman they trusted most...
Had become the person they feared most.
- Writer
