My father had been dead for thirty years.
\nYet I had just heard his voice.
\nNot in a dream.
\nNot in a memory.
\nOn my phone.
\n\u201cSon\u2026\u201d
\nThe word kept replaying inside my head.
\nThen the explosion beneath the hospital shook the floor.
\nThe walls trembled.
\nA ceiling panel dropped somewhere down the corridor.
\nPeople screamed.
\nA nurse ran past us.
\n\u201cEverybody move away from the windows!\u201d
\nI looked at Elena.
\nShe wasn’t looking at the smoke.
\nShe was looking at me.
\n\u201cYou heard him.\u201d
\nI nodded.
\n\u201cMy father.\u201d
\nShe closed her eyes.
\n\u201cThen they know.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray stepped toward us.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena, what did your father mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis’s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn’t talking about himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my father’s voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena looked toward the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was using a recorded message.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something inside me collapse.<\/p>\n
\u201cA recording?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom thirty years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father recorded emergency messages before Black Lantern.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn case the program was compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did it play on my phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat,\u201d Elena said quietly, \u201cis what frightens me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another explosion sounded somewhere beneath the hospital.<\/p>\n
This one was farther away.<\/p>\n
The lights flickered.<\/p>\n
Then emergency power came on.<\/p>\n
Red lights illuminated the hallway.<\/p>\n
Ray looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTyler.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s already with Sarah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen move.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward the elevator.<\/p>\n
Elena grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that’s where they want you to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
She pointed toward the stairwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cService stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know this hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI helped design part of its security system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
That was becoming her favorite answer.<\/p>\n
I pulled my arm free.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena, if you want me to trust you, you need to start explaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don’t have time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen make time.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a moment, neither of us moved.<\/p>\n
Then she whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the person who told Cross to erase your father’s records.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your father asked me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he ask you to erase his records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he knew they were looking for Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were looking for my brother thirty years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena looked at Ray.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel wasn’t a soldier.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a witness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack Lantern.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother was twenty years old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel joined the military at twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficially.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to shrink.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying your brother was inside Black Lantern before you were.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n
All these years, I had believed I was the older brother protecting Daniel.<\/p>\n
Maybe I’d had it backward.<\/p>\n
Maybe Daniel had spent his entire life protecting me.<\/p>\n
A voice suddenly came through the hospital intercom.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecurity alert. All personnel evacuate the lower levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
We ran.<\/p>\n
Not toward the elevators.<\/p>\n
Down the service corridor.<\/p>\n
The stairwell door opened.<\/p>\n
Smoke drifted upward from below.<\/p>\n
Ray coughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened down there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone destroyed the electrical control room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo blind the cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n
We descended one level.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
At the third floor, I heard footsteps behind us.<\/p>\n
Fast.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
Ray stopped.<\/p>\n
Elena turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep moving,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone’s following us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I trained them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence froze me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou trained them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are they?\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
Then a voice echoed from the stairs above.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis!\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew it.<\/p>\n
Colonel Cross.<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
He appeared on the landing.<\/p>\n
No weapon in his hands.<\/p>\n
Just that same calm expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop running.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay away from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray froze.<\/p>\n
Cross continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’ve spent nineteen years believing your wife died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray’s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me where she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray turned toward her.<\/p>\n
Elena looked away.<\/p>\n
Cross laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s the problem with survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey think the truth belongs to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross’s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe betrayed us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was never part of Black Lantern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross stepped down one stair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s what he wanted you to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he knew what you would become.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he think I’d become?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly what you are becoming now.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the old anger rise.<\/p>\n
But something else stopped me.<\/p>\n
His eyes.<\/p>\n
For the first time, Cross looked afraid.<\/p>\n
Not of me.<\/p>\n
Of something behind me.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
A man stood at the bottom of the stairs.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Dark coat.<\/p>\n
Older face.<\/p>\n
But I recognized him.<\/p>\n
I had seen him in the photograph.<\/p>\n
The man behind Barnes.<\/p>\n
The man Tyler had noticed.<\/p>\n
The man Daniel had been meeting.<\/p>\n
He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
Then said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Dennis.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
Cross stepped backward.<\/p>\n
The stranger smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s been a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Cross.<\/p>\n
Then back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Michael Irwin.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n
Another Irwin.<\/p>\n
Another ghost.<\/p>\n
Another impossible name.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you related to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
He answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m your father’s brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray stared at me.<\/p>\n
Elena closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
I felt like the entire world had tilted.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father had a brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn’t I know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your father wanted it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at Cross.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Adrian killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross said nothing.<\/p>\n
I turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that true?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross’s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell him!\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael is telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Cross.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou killed my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father was supposed to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything inside me went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died in 1996.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s what the records say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw a body.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot your father’s.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees weakened.<\/p>\n
Thirty years.<\/p>\n
A funeral.<\/p>\n
A coffin.<\/p>\n
My mother crying.<\/p>\n
Daniel standing beside me.<\/p>\n
Everything I remembered suddenly became uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
Michael said:<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder your childhood home.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe command room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father is there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat’s left of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn’t understand.<\/p>\n
Michael looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s been there for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why say he’s alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause his work is.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached into his coat.<\/p>\n
Pulled out a small envelope.<\/p>\n
And handed it to me.<\/p>\n
My name was written across the front.<\/p>\n
In my father’s handwriting.<\/p>\n
I didn’t open it.<\/p>\n
Not immediately.<\/p>\n
I was afraid.<\/p>\n
Not of what it contained.<\/p>\n
Of what it might destroy.<\/p>\n
Michael watched me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wrote that before they took him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho took him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCross.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross finally spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father wasn’t innocent.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it’s true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cross looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe created Black Lantern.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
A bitter sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was a mechanic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fixed engines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe built something much more important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA system.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
She nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cA system designed to identify people who could disappear without anyone noticing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWitnesses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOperatives.<\/p>\n
Families.<\/p>\n
Children.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your father discovered that governments don’t always need prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes they only need paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words hit me.<\/p>\n
Death certificates.<\/p>\n
Missing records.<\/p>\n
Changed identities.<\/p>\n
Disappeared soldiers.<\/p>\n
People who officially died but continued living.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
Elena.<\/p>\n
Maybe hundreds of others.<\/p>\n
Black Lantern wasn’t just an intelligence program.<\/p>\n
It was a machine for rewriting reality.<\/p>\n
And my father had helped build it.<\/p>\n
I finally opened the envelope.<\/p>\n
Inside was a single sheet of paper.<\/p>\n
My father’s handwriting covered the page.<\/p>\n
I read the first sentence.<\/p>\n
Dennis, if you’re reading this, Daniel failed to keep you away.<\/strong><\/p>\n I stopped.<\/p>\n Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n \u201cKeep reading.\u201d<\/p>\n I did.<\/p>\n You were never supposed to become Reaper.<\/strong><\/p>\n My hands began shaking.<\/p>\n That name was created for someone else.<\/strong><\/p>\n I looked up.<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n Michael said nothing.<\/p>\n I continued.<\/p>\n If Cross tells you Daniel betrayed the team, he is lying.<\/strong><\/p>\n My breath caught.<\/p>\n If Daniel tells you Cross betrayed the team, he is also lying.<\/strong><\/p>\n I stared at the page.<\/p>\n Then read the final paragraph.<\/p>\n The betrayal came from inside our family.<\/strong><\/p>\n I stopped.<\/p>\n There was one final sentence.<\/p>\n Do not trust Michael.<\/strong><\/p>\n I slowly lowered the letter.<\/p>\n Everyone looked at me.<\/p>\n Michael’s face changed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou read it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n I looked directly at him.<\/p>\n \u201cMy father told me not to trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael smiled.<\/p>\n Not angrily.<\/p>\n Almost sadly.<\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n I frowned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe finally taught you something.\u201d<\/p>\n Cross stepped closer.<\/p>\n \u201cDennis, listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don’t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understand enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don’t.\u201d<\/p>\n He pointed at Michael.<\/p>\n \u201cYour uncle wasn’t protecting Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael’s expression changed.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was selling him.\u201d<\/p>\n I turned toward Michael.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that true?\u201d<\/p>\n Michael didn’t answer.<\/p>\n Cross continued.<\/p>\n \u201cHe sold the identities of Black Lantern survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n My stomach turned.<\/p>\n \u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n Cross looked at me.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people who funded the program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n He whispered:<\/p>\n \u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n Michael’s face became furious.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re still doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n Cross smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cTell him.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael stared at me.<\/p>\n Then he finally spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n My heart dropped.<\/p>\n \u201cI sold information.\u201d<\/p>\n Ray stepped backward.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI sold names.\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n Michael closed his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel was one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sold my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was trying to save him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrom what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at him.<\/p>\n None of it made sense.<\/p>\n Then Elena suddenly shouted:<\/p>\n \u201cDOWN!\u201d<\/p>\n We dropped.<\/p>\n A gunshot cracked through the stairwell.<\/p>\n The light above us shattered.<\/p>\n Everyone froze.<\/p>\n Another shot.<\/p>\n The wall behind Cross exploded into dust.<\/p>\n Cross disappeared around the landing.<\/p>\n Michael pulled Elena down.<\/p>\n Ray grabbed my shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cWho is shooting?\u201d<\/p>\n I looked upward.<\/p>\n A silhouette stood at the top of the stairs.<\/p>\n Then a familiar voice called down.<\/p>\n \u201cDennis!\u201d<\/p>\n I knew it.<\/p>\n Daniel.<\/p>\n My brother.<\/p>\n Alive.<\/p>\n \u201cDon’t trust any of them!\u201d<\/p>\n The silhouette disappeared.<\/p>\n I ran up the stairs.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel!\u201d<\/p>\n Nothing.<\/p>\n I reached the landing.<\/p>\n A door stood open.<\/p>\n Beyond it was the hospital roof.<\/p>\n Snow blew across the concrete.<\/p>\n No one was there.<\/p>\n Except for a small black box sitting in the center of the roof.<\/p>\n I approached it.<\/p>\n Ray shouted from behind me.<\/p>\n \u201cDon’t touch it!\u201d<\/p>\n I stopped.<\/p>\n Elena came through the doorway.<\/p>\n She stared at the box.<\/p>\n \u201cOh no.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n She whispered:<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s the Black Lantern archive.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael appeared behind her.<\/p>\n His face had gone white.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat archive?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe original.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at the box.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat’s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n Elena answered:<\/p>\n \u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverything what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery name.\u201d<\/p>\n Every operative.<\/p>\n Every witness.<\/p>\n Every person erased from the records.<\/p>\n Every death that wasn’t real.<\/p>\n Every identity that had been rewritten.<\/p>\n Every operation that had been buried.<\/p>\n Every payment.<\/p>\n Every betrayal.<\/p>\n Every person who had ordered it.<\/p>\n I looked at the box.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would Daniel leave this here?\u201d<\/p>\n Michael whispered:<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n I turned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Michael pointed at the roof door.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was placed here before we arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy whom?\u201d<\/p>\n A voice answered from behind us.<\/p>\n \u201cBy me.\u201d<\/p>\n We turned.<\/p>\n A man stood in the doorway.<\/p>\n Not Daniel.<\/p>\n Not Cross.<\/p>\n Not Barnes.<\/p>\n Not anyone I recognized.<\/p>\n He removed his hood.<\/p>\n My blood froze.<\/p>\n Because I knew his face.<\/p>\n I had seen it once.<\/p>\n Thirty years ago.<\/p>\n In the last photograph taken before Black Lantern.<\/p>\n The man everyone said died in the ambush.<\/p>\n The man whose name had been erased.<\/p>\n The man Cross had claimed was one of the three dead.<\/p>\n He smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cMy name is David Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n Ray whispered:<\/p>\n \u201cYou died.\u201d<\/p>\n David looked at him.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at me.<\/p>\n \u201cI was erased.\u201d<\/p>\n He pointed at the black box.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd now it’s time for you to see why.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n David smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you’re the only person left who can open it.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked down.<\/p>\n There was no lock.<\/p>\n No keypad.<\/p>\n No combination.<\/p>\n Just a small circular indentation.<\/p>\n I touched it.<\/p>\n Nothing happened.<\/p>\n Then David said:<\/p>\n \u201cUse your father’s ring.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at my hand.<\/p>\n The old ring my father had given me when I was eighteen.<\/p>\n I had worn it for thirty years.<\/p>\n I had never known why there was a tiny black circle carved into the inside.<\/p>\n I pressed it against the box.<\/p>\n A click sounded.<\/p>\n The lid opened.<\/p>\n Inside was a stack of photographs.<\/p>\n Documents.<\/p>\n A small key.<\/p>\n And one final object.<\/p>\n A cassette tape.<\/p>\n I stared at it.<\/p>\n My father’s voice suddenly came through the small speaker attached to the box.<\/p>\n \u201cDennis.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone froze.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’ve opened this, then they have already found you.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n At Elena.<\/p>\n At Ray.<\/p>\n At David.<\/p>\n Then my father’s recorded voice continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is one truth I could never tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n A pause.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel is not your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n The tape continued.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is your son.\u201d<\/p>\n The world disappeared.<\/p>\n I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n At Elena.<\/p>\n At David.<\/p>\n At Ray.<\/p>\n Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n Then the speaker crackled again.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Tyler\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n A long pause.<\/p>\n My father’s voice became almost a whisper.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026is the reason they found all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at the black box.<\/p>\n Then the final words came through.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Tyler is the last person carrying the Black Lantern bloodline.\u201d<\/p>\n The tape clicked off.<\/p>\n Nobody moved.<\/p>\n Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n Unknown number.<\/p>\n I answered.<\/p>\n A man’s voice whispered:<\/p>\n \u201cDennis.\u201d<\/p>\n I knew the voice.<\/p>\n Daniel.<\/p>\n \u201cDon’t believe what the tape says.\u201d<\/p>\n I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cThen tell me the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel breathed heavily.<\/p>\n \u201cI can’t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I’m standing outside your house.\u201d<\/p>\n My blood turned cold.<\/p>\n \u201cThe old house?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked toward the mountains.<\/p>\n \u201cWho’s with you?\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel was silent.<\/p>\n Then he whispered:<\/p>\n \u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n The call ended.<\/p>\n And for the first time in thirty years, I realized I wasn’t chasing the past anymore.<\/p>\n The past was waiting for me.<\/p>\n At home.<\/p>\n Under the floorboards.<\/p>\n And whatever was beneath that house had been waiting for the moment I finally came back.<\/p>\n TO BE CONTINUED\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PART 7 My father had been dead for thirty years. Yet I had just heard his voice. Not in a dream. Not in a memory. On my phone. \u201cSon\u2026\u201d The … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5131,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5128\/revisions\/5131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}