Part 3: "The Dead Soldier Had Left One Final Mission"
Part 3: "The Dead Soldier Had Left One Final Mission"
Holden Cross stared at the classified military file without blinking.
The name matched the photograph.
Captain Roman Mercer.
Special Forces.
Killed in action six years earlier during a covert operation near the Syrian border.
Status:
Deceased.
Yet nothing else made sense.
If Roman had died overseas...
How had his daughter ended up standing inside Holden Cross's compound?
And why did Phantom recognize her instantly?
"Who gave you this picture?" Holden asked gently.
Anna hugged the photograph against her chest.
"My daddy."
"When?"
She frowned.
"I don't know."
"It was before the fire."
"The fire?"
She nodded.
"Our house burned."
"They told me Daddy wasn't coming back."
"They took me somewhere with lots of children."
"The orphanage."
Her voice became quieter.
"I ran away."
Holden exchanged a look with his head of security.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"Why did you come here?"
Anna looked down at Phantom.
"Daddy told me..."
"If I was ever scared..."
"I should find Roman."
"I remembered the big black gates."
"The fountain."
"The trees."
"So I walked."
One guard whispered,
"She walked here?"
Another checked the security report.
Boss...
The nearest orphanage matching her description...
Was almost twelve miles away.
Twelve miles.
In freezing weather.
Without food.
Without shoes that even matched.
Holden looked at the little girl's swollen feet.
Several toes were bleeding.
She shouldn't have been able to make the journey.
Yet somehow...
She had.
Phantom suddenly stood.
Every guard instinctively reached for their weapons again.
But the dog ignored them.
Instead...
He walked toward the mansion.
Then stopped.
Looked back.
Whined.
Walked again.
Stopped.
Looked back once more.
Almost...
As if asking them to follow.
Holden frowned.
"What's he doing?"
Michael swallowed.
"Boss..."
"I think..."
"He's trying to show us something."
The group followed Phantom across the courtyard.
The massive Cane Corso moved with complete certainty.
Past the fountain.
Past the garage.
Toward the oldest building on the estate.
A stone guesthouse that had remained locked for nearly seven years.
Holden rarely entered it.
It had belonged to his older brother...
Nathan Cross.
A former military contractor who had died under mysterious circumstances before Holden inherited the estate.
Phantom stopped outside the weathered wooden door.
He scratched once.
Twice.
Then sat down.
Anna stepped forward.
She touched the dog's head.
"Roman used to do this."
"When Daddy wanted him to find something."
Holden's heartbeat quickened.
Michael forced open the old door.
Dust filled the air.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Old furniture.
Covered paintings.
Wooden crates.
Then Phantom crossed the room.
Straight to an ancient fireplace.
He pawed the bricks repeatedly.
Holden knelt.
One brick moved.
Hidden behind it...
Was a small steel lockbox.
Everyone stared.
Holden had owned this estate for six years.
He had never known it existed.
Michael carefully opened the box.
Inside were three objects.
A military dog tag.
A leather notebook.
And a sealed envelope.
Across the envelope, in bold handwriting, were seven words.
For Holden—If Roman Never Returns Home.
Silence swallowed the room.
Holden's hands trembled as he broke the seal.
Inside...
A handwritten letter.
"Holden..."
"If you're reading this, I'm already gone."
"I know you'll never understand why I disappeared."
"But one day..."
"My daughter may come looking for Roman."
"If she does..."
"Protect her."
"Trust no one from Blackridge."
"They'll come for her before they come for you."
Signed...
Captain Roman Mercer.
Holden looked up sharply.
Blackridge.
He hadn't heard that name in years.
Not since Nathan's death.
A private military corporation.
Officially dissolved.
Unofficially...
One of the most dangerous criminal networks ever hidden behind government contracts.
Only a handful of people knew Nathan had investigated them before his fatal "accident."
Holden slowly looked toward Anna.
The little girl was quietly feeding Phantom the last piece of stale bread from her pocket.
She smiled at the dog.
Completely unaware...
That she wasn't just a lost orphan.
She was the last living link...
To a secret powerful men had killed to bury.
Before anyone could speak...
Michael's radio exploded with frantic voices.
"Boss!"
"Black SUVs approaching the front gate!"
"There are six of them!"
"They're not slowing down!"
Holden walked to the window.
Beyond the iron gates...
Six armored vehicles rolled toward the estate.
No license plates.
Tinted windows.
Military formation.
His face hardened.
"They found her."
Then he looked at Anna.
For the first time in years...
The feared billionaire realized he wasn't protecting his empire anymore.
May you like
He was protecting a seven-year-old girl...
Who carried a dead soldier's final mission.
