My husband walked into my hospital room after my near-fatal car accident—not to comfort me, but to demand that I get out of bed and stop costing him money. He tried to drag my broken body home until the door opened and he came face-to-face with the one man he never should have challenged: my father, a hidden special operations officer. / Chapter 30 / 60

Chapter 30 - The Mother's Legacy

"Who is he, Arthur?" I demanded, leaning my forehead against the cold glass. "Give me the name."

Arthur leaned closer to the glass, his breath fogging the surface.

"Twenty years ago, your father didn't build that encrypted server network alone," Arthur whispered chillingly. "He had a business partner. A man named Marcus Sterling—Victoria's late husband. But Marcus didn't die of a heart attack like the newspapers claimed. Your father killed him."

I froze, the receiver heavy in my hand. "That's a lie."

"Is it?" Arthur grinned wickedly. "Ask your father why your mother's personal diary was locked inside Marcus Sterling's private safe when he died. Ask him why your mother was leaving him for Marcus the night her car went off the cliff."

"You're lying to spin my head," I said, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay composed.

"Check the encrypted drive in your father's vault, Audrey," Arthur urged, his voice dropping to a sinister purr. "Look for a folder named 'Project Aurora.' Your mother didn't die for your father's crusade. She died because she discovered that your father was the original founder of the Iron Vanguard."

I slammed the telephone receiver onto its hook, turned on my heel, and walked out of the prison visitor room while Arthur's booming laughter echoed behind me.

When I reached the parking lot, Elena was waiting by her SUV.