Chapter 7 Embrace The Truth

• David's secure phone buzzed. Jake Morrison's name appeared on the screen.
• "Alexander," Jake's voice was tight with urgency. "We have a problem. Turn on the news. Any channel."
• Elena pulled out a tablet, scrolling to a news feed. The headline made David's blood turn to ice:
• BREAKING: International Terrorist Network Launches Coordinated Attacks. FBI Releases Photos of Suspected Leaders.
• David's photograph filled the screen…not David Miller, but Alexander Kane. Military photo, dress uniform, the works. Beside it, Jake's picture from his federal booking.
• "Crimson Industries has been very cooperative with federal authorities," the news anchor was saying. "CEO Jonathan Blake personally provided intelligence that helped identify these dangerous fugitives."
• David looked at Jonathan, who was smiling despite the ruins of his empire.
• "Insurance policy," Jonathan said weakly. "Crimson might be finished, but you're now the most wanted man in America. Every law enforcement agency, every intelligence service, every mercenary outfit looking to collect the bounty."
• His smile widened. "Twenty million dollars for Alexander Kane, dead or alive."
• Sarah stared at the screen, at the military photo that showed her husband in uniform she'd never seen, with medals she'd never known he'd earned.
• "Twenty million," she whispered.
• "Sarah," David said, but she was already moving toward the door.
• "I can't do this," she said. "I can't be part of this. My family, my life…"
• "Your family is connected to Crimson Syndicate," David said desperately. "You're not safe with them."
• "I'm not safe with you either!" The words came out like a scream. "Look at what you've done! Look what you are!"
• She was almost to the door when Elena stepped in front of her.
• "Ma'am, I can't let you leave. Not until we know the area is secure."
• Sarah turned back to David, tears streaming down her face. "Are you going to let them stop me? Are you going to have your soldiers force me to stay?"
• David stared at his wife, at the woman who'd just learned that everything about their life together was built on lies.
• He could order Elena to detain her, could drag her to safety whether she wanted it or not. Could protect her from the consequences of his choices.
• But that would make him everything she was afraid he was.
• "Let her go," he said quietly.
• Elena's eyebrows rose. "Ghost…"
• "Let her go."
• Elena stepped aside. Sarah looked at David one last time, her face a map of betrayal and broken trust.
• "Don't follow me," she said. "Don't contact me. Don't try to protect me. Whatever we had, it's over."
• She walked out of the conference room and out of David's life, leaving him alone with the wreckage of everything he'd tried to build.
• Jonathan Blake started laughing….a broken, hysterical sound.
• "Congratulations, Alexander," he said. "You won. You destroyed Crimson Industries, neutralized a global threat, saved countless lives. All it cost you was the one thing you actually cared about."
• David stared at the doorway where Sarah had disappeared, feeling something cold and final settle in his chest.
• "Ghost?" Elena's voice was gentle. "Orders?"
• David looked at the news feed still playing on the tablet. His face, his real name, his military record all broadcast to the world. David Miller was dead. Alexander Kane was back, whether he wanted to be or not.
• "Activate Phoenix Protocol," he said, his voice empty of emotion. "All assets, all resources. It's time to finish what Jake started."
• Elena nodded and began speaking into her radio, coordinating extraction and next-phase operations. But David wasn't listening anymore.
• He was watching the news feed, seeing his photograph broadcast to every screen in America, knowing that the careful civilian life he'd built was burning along with Jonathan Blake's empire.
• Sarah was right. Alexander Kane destroyed everything he touched.
• Now it was time to embrace that truth.