Chapter 28 –
My father's words hung in the air, sharp enough to cut through the chaos.
Jace didn't move. Kael didn't breathe. Even the man with the gun seemed to hesitate, as if he too wanted to hear what came next.
Dad's eyes locked with mine. "You weren't taken by accident, Valerie. They've been looking for you… since before you were born."
My stomach dropped. "What—?"
The man behind him shoved the barrel harder into his temple. "Shut up, old man."
But Dad didn't stop. "Your mother and I… we used to work for them. Not as soldiers — as engineers. We built something. Something they could never control. And when we found out what they planned to do with it… we ran."
"They?" I whispered.
Kael's voice came from behind me, grim and low. "The Dominion."
The man with the gun sneered. "And thanks to me, their little runaway project is coming home."
I stared at him, my heart pounding. "Project? What are you talking about?"
The man's smile widened. "You. You're the failsafe."
Jace swore under his breath. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means," the man said, "that her DNA is the key to activating the core. Without her, everything they've built stays locked."
The room tilted around me. My knees threatened to give way. "You're lying—"
Dad's voice broke. "He's not."
That single confirmation shattered something inside me. Every unanswered question, every nightmare, every shadow in the corner of my life suddenly felt connected.
Kael stepped forward slowly, his hands slightly raised. "Let him go. We can talk about this."
The man tightened his grip. "No. We walk out together, or your precious girl gets to watch her father's brains decorate the floor."
Something shifted in the air. I felt it before I saw it — Jace's stance changing, his eyes flicking to mine for the briefest second. A silent signal.
I barely had time to inhale before he moved.
One shot.
One body hitting the ground.
And then it was over.
The man lay still, the gun kicked far away. Dad was shaking but alive. Mom was crying. Ethan and Lena rushed forward.
Kael's voice was steady, but his eyes were darker than I'd ever seen them. "This changes everything. The Dominion won't stop now. And if what your father says is true…"
Jace turned to me, his jaw tight. "Then we need to move before they find us. Because Valerie—"
His voice faltered for just a second.
"…they're not after your parents anymore. They're after you."