Chapter 7: The Bloodline They Tried to Erase
Marcus Harris read the document three times.
Each time, the words became less believable.
Each time, they felt more real.
*PROJECT HARRIS: THE BLOODLINE THAT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE.*
He looked up at Daniel Brooks.
“What is this?””
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
For the first time since Marcus had found him alive, Daniel looked afraid.
Not nervous.
Not uncertain.
Afraid.
“Where did you get this?””
Marcus held up the document.
“That’s not an answer.””
Daniel looked around the empty training field.
“We can’t talk here.””
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“You disappeared for nineteen years. My daughter was hidden from me. My father may be alive. My commanding officer lied to me.””
He stepped closer.
“I’m done being told to wait.””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“You have every right to hate me.””
“That wasn’t my question.””
“No.””
Daniel looked directly into his eyes.
“You deserve the truth.””
A long silence passed.
Then Daniel took a breath.
“Your family has been connected to military intelligence for generations.””
Marcus frowned.
“My family?””
“Yes.””
“That’s impossible.””
“Your father spent his entire life making sure you believed it was impossible.””
Marcus looked down at the paper.
“What was Project Harris?””
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Not a project in the way you’re thinking.””
“Then explain it.””
“It was a program designed to track certain families with access to classified information.””
Marcus stared.
“That sounds insane.””
“I thought so too.””
“Until?””
“Until I found the files.””
The wind moved across the empty field.
Marcus listened.
“Years ago, before your father disappeared, he discovered that several high-ranking officials were using military resources for illegal operations.””
“General Cole.””
Daniel nodded.
“Cole was involved.””
Marcus felt anger rising.
“Then why is he still wearing a uniform?””
“Because he was never the person in charge.””
Marcus went still.
“Who was?””
Daniel looked at him.
“That’s what I spent nineteen years trying to find out.””
Marcus studied his friend.
“You weren’t dead.””
“No.””
“Where were you?””
Daniel looked away.
“Hiding.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It’s the only one I have.””
Marcus’s patience broke.
“You don’t get to do that anymore.””
Daniel looked at him.
“What?””
“Disappear behind half-truths.””
The words hurt.
Because Daniel knew he deserved them.
“I was captured.””
Marcus froze.
“By who?””
“The people behind Project Harris.””
“When?””
“After the mission.””
Marcus remembered.
The explosion.
The missing body.
The official report.
“They took you.””
Daniel nodded.
“They needed information.””
“What information?””
Daniel looked at the document.
“The same information they’re looking for now.””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Ruby.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Because Ruby carries something.””
Marcus’s expression darkened.
“She’s a child.””
“I know.””
“Then what are you talking about?””
Daniel looked toward the visitor center.
“Something your father discovered before he vanished.””
“What?””
“A hidden archive.””
Marcus waited.
“A record of every operation, every person involved, every name.””
“And Ruby has it?””
“No.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not exactly.””
“Then why are they after her?””
“Because of Amelia.””
Marcus frowned.
“Amelia?””
“She was the last person your father trusted with the location.””
Marcus felt confused.
“But Amelia said she didn’t have it.””
“She doesn’t.””
“Then who does?””
Daniel looked at him.
“Ruby.””
Marcus went silent.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“My daughter doesn’t know anything.””
“That’s the point.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Your father knew they would search Amelia. He knew they would search you. He knew they would search anyone connected to him.””
Marcus stared.
“So he hid the archive with a baby?””
“No.””
Daniel shook his head.
“He hid the key.””
Marcus looked back at the document.
“What key?””
“A genetic key.””
The words sounded impossible.
Daniel continued.
“Your father believed they would eventually find the archive. So he created a system that could only be unlocked by someone carrying Harris family DNA.””
Marcus’s face changed.
“Ruby.””
“Yes.””
A cold silence followed.
“She’s a password?””
“No.””
Daniel’s voice softened.
“She’s a person.””
Marcus looked away.
“Then why does everyone talk about her like she’s an object?””
“Because that’s what powerful people do when they’re afraid.””
Those words stayed with him.
A child.
A little girl.
Reduced to something valuable.
Something dangerous.
Something to control.
Marcus looked toward the building.
“I need to tell her.””
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“No.””
Marcus looked at him.
“She deserves to know.””
“She deserves a childhood.””
“She deserves the truth.””
“She deserves both.””
Daniel’s voice became urgent.
“But not all at once.””
Marcus hated that Daniel sounded reasonable.
Because it was the same thing Amelia had said.
Protect her.
Wait.
Not yet.
He looked down.
“I missed eight years.””
Daniel’s expression softened.
“I know.””
“I missed her first steps.””
“Yes.””
“Her first words.””
“Yes.””
“Every birthday.””
Daniel looked away.
“I know.””
Marcus swallowed.
“I don’t want to miss another second.””
Daniel nodded.
“Then don’t.””
The answer surprised him.
“But be smart.””
Before Marcus could respond, his radio crackled.
“Colonel Harris.””
He answered immediately.
“Harris.””
The voice on the other end sounded nervous.
“Sir, we have a situation.””
“What kind?””
A pause.
Then:
“Someone accessed the visitor center records.””
Marcus looked toward the building.
“Who?””
“We don’t know.””
Daniel’s face changed.
“Marcus.””
“What?””
Daniel pointed.
“Look.””
Marcus followed his gaze.
A military vehicle was parked near the entrance.
A black sedan.
The same type of vehicle that had arrived earlier.
But this time, the person standing beside it wasn’t a stranger.
It was General Richard Cole.
And he wasn’t alone.
Two armed officers stood beside him.
Marcus immediately moved.
“Stay here.””
Daniel grabbed his arm.
“No.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What?””
“This is exactly what they want.””
“They came onto my base.””
“Because they know you’ll respond.””
Marcus pulled away.
“They have my daughter.””
Daniel’s expression became serious.
“Then don’t act like a soldier.””
The words stopped him.
“What?””
“Act like her father.””
Marcus looked toward Ruby.
A little girl sitting inside the visitor center.
Waiting.
Trusting.
Needing someone to choose her.
For years, Marcus had followed orders.
He had believed rules protected people.
But today he learned something different.
Sometimes rules protected secrets.
He walked toward the building.
General Cole watched him approach.
“Colonel Harris.””
Marcus stopped.
“General.””
Cole looked older than Marcus remembered.
But his eyes were the same.
Cold.
Calculating.
“You’ve made this more complicated than it needed to be.””
Marcus stared.
“You lied to me.””
“I protected you.””
“No.””
His voice was calm.
“You protected yourself.””
Cole’s expression barely changed.
“Where is Amelia?””
Marcus ignored the question.
“You denied my paternity test.””
“Yes.””
“You erased my daughter.””
“I prevented her from becoming a target.””
Marcus laughed once.
A humorless sound.
“You made her one.””
Cole looked past him.
At Ruby.
“She should never have been found.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Careful.””
The warning in his voice was unmistakable.
For the first time, Cole looked uncertain.
“You don’t understand what she is.””
Marcus’s eyes hardened.
“She’s my daughter.””
Cole’s expression changed.
Almost like he finally understood.
“You really believe that changes everything.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Marcus looked back at Ruby.
Because she was watching him.
Because she was afraid.
Because she had spent her entire life waiting for someone to stay.
“Because unlike all of you…”
He turned back.
“I’m not hiding her anymore.””
A tense silence followed.
Then Cole reached into his coat.
Not for a weapon.
For a small folder.
He held it out.
“Then you need to see this.””
Marcus didn’t move.
“What is it?””
Cole looked at him.
“The truth about your father.””
Marcus stared.
“And why should I trust you?””
Cole’s expression darkened.
“Because if you don’t read that file before midnight…”
He looked toward Ruby.
“…someone else will reach her first.””
Marcus took the folder.
Slowly.
Carefully.
And when he opened it, the first page contained a photograph.
A photograph of Thomas Harris.
Marcus’s father.
Standing beside someone Marcus recognized immediately.
Someone he never expected.
Someone who changed everything.
The second person in the photo was Amelia’s father.
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And written beneath the image were six words:
*THEY STARTED THIS TOGETHER.*
