Chapter 9: The Last Report
The words on the floor stared back at me.
*YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE WRONG MONSTER.*
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The darkness after the gunshot still lingered in my mind.
The echo.
The panic.
The certainty that someone had just died.
But when the lights returned, Captain Michael Vale was gone.
Not injured.
Not captured.
Gone.
The security officers immediately spread through the room.
“Seal all exits!””
“Check the corridor!””
“Find him!””
Their voices bounced off the metal walls.
I barely heard them.
Because I was still holding the photograph.
My father’s handwriting.
Three words.
*KANE DIDN’T LOCK IT.*
Everything I thought I knew had collapsed.
Again.
I looked at Colonel Kane.
He was staring at the message on the floor.
Not with anger.
With recognition.
“You know who wrote that.””
His eyes moved to mine.
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
I stepped closer.
“You do.””
Kane said nothing.
“You spent twenty years making everyone believe you were the villain.””
His expression changed.
“That’s not what happened.””
“Then explain it.””
He looked around the room.
At Ellis.
At Hale.
At the security officers.
Then back at me.
“Not here.””
I almost laughed.
“Of course.””
My voice hardened.
“Every time the truth gets close, you move it somewhere else.””
Kane didn’t respond.
Because he knew I was right.
The officer in charge stepped forward.
“Lieutenant Reeves, you are still under arrest.””
I looked at him.
“For what?””
“Your credentials were used.””
“By someone else.””
“We’ll determine that.””
“No.””
The word surprised everyone.
I pointed toward the photograph.
“You’re not arresting me because of evidence.””
The officer frowned.
“You’re arresting me because someone wants you to.””
The room became quiet.
Nobody liked hearing that.
Especially not people whose job depended on believing systems worked.
Hale walked toward the console.
“Wait.””
Everyone turned.
He was looking at the security logs.
“What?””
His face changed.
“The purge.””
Ellis moved closer.
“What about it?””
“It wasn’t started from Daniel’s credentials.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
Hale shook his head.
“The system showed his authorization because someone copied his access pattern.””
The officer looked confused.
“Can that happen?””
Hale nodded.
“If someone had access to the original command system.””
A silence followed.
Then Ellis whispered:
“Only senior command.””
Everyone slowly turned.
Not at Kane.
At the empty hallway.
At the possibility that the person controlling everything was still on the ship.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kane spoke quietly.
“There is someone else.””
I looked at him.
“You knew.””
He didn’t answer.
“You knew there was another person.””
Kane closed his eyes for a moment.
“Yes.””
The confession shocked me.
“Who?””
He looked toward Deck Four.
“That’s what I never found.””
The words made no sense.
“You’re telling me you spent twenty years hiding this, but you didn’t know who caused it?””
“No.””
“Then what did you know?””
Kane looked at me.
“I knew someone wanted the truth buried.””
A bitter smile crossed my face.
“And you helped them.””
His eyes lowered.
“Yes.””
That answer was harder to hear than any excuse.
Because he wasn’t denying it.
“I made a choice.””
“A choice?””
His voice became quieter.
“I thought protecting the ship meant protecting the people still alive.””
I stared at him.
“And the people who died?””
He had no answer.
We moved to the command center.
Not because anyone trusted Kane.
Because there was nowhere else to go.
The entire ship had changed.
Every screen showed security warnings.
Every corridor had armed personnel.
Everyone was looking for a threat.
But nobody knew what the threat looked like.
Hale connected the old memory drive to the main system.
The damaged file appeared.
*FINAL ENGINEERING REPORT — DECK FOUR INCIDENT*
My heart started beating faster.
The report opened.
A video file.
My father appeared on screen.
Older than the few photographs I had seen.
Tired.
But alive.
I forgot how to breathe.
“Daniel.””
His voice.
My father’s voice.
After twenty years.
My hands gripped the edge of the table.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re watching this, something has gone wrong.””
Nobody spoke.
The recording continued.
“The official report is false.””
A pause.
“The fire was not caused by equipment failure.””
Hale looked at Kane.
My father continued.
“Someone accessed the control system before the test.””
The screen flickered.
“Someone wanted the containment doors to fail.””
I felt sick.
Because this was the proof.
The truth.
Then my father said something unexpected.
“But Colonel Victor Kane is not responsible.””
Everyone froze.
I looked at Kane.
He looked away.
The recording continued.
“Victor made a terrible decision after the incident.””
Kane closed his eyes.
“But the person who caused the fire is still on this ship.””
The room went silent.
My father leaned closer to the camera.
“He has been helping hide the truth.””
A pause.
“Because he knows what happens if people discover his role.””
The video distorted.
My father’s final words were almost lost.
“Daniel, if you survived…”
The screen glitched.
“Find Commander—”
Static.
The file ended.
Nobody moved.
“Commander who?””
Hale checked the file.
“It’s corrupted.””
I looked at Ellis.
Her face had lost all color.
“Commander Ellis?””
She looked at me.
“I don’t know.””
But she was lying.
I could see it.
Not because she was guilty.
Because she knew something.
“Kane.””
Everyone turned.
He looked exhausted.
“What?””
“Who was your executive officer twenty years ago?””
He stared at me.
Then at Ellis.
Slowly, he answered.
“Commander Rachel Ellis.””
The room went silent.
Ellis stepped back.
“No.””
Hale looked confused.
“Rachel?””
She shook her head.
“I didn’t…”
Nobody believed she was the villain.
But everyone understood one thing.
The message had been right.
We had been looking at the wrong monster.
The question was which one.
Later that night, I found Ellis alone.
Not hiding.
Not running.
Just standing on the observation deck.
Watching the ocean.
The same ocean Kane had thrown me into.
The same ocean that almost took me.
“You knew.””
She didn’t turn around.
“I knew parts.””
“Enough to hide it.””
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
“Why?””
She was silent for a long time.
Then:
“Because your father asked me to.””
I stopped.
“What?””
She turned.
Her eyes were full of regret.
“Daniel, your father knew someone inside command was responsible.””
“Who?””
“He didn’t know.””
“Then why hide it?””
“Because he believed exposing the wrong person would get you killed.””
The words hit me.
“My father protected me?””
“Yes.””
She looked at the ocean.
“He told me if anything happened, I had to make sure you never came back to this ship.””
I stared at her.
“But I did.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you stop me?””
Her eyes filled with guilt.
“Because I thought you deserved the truth.””
A long silence.
Then I asked the question I had avoided.
“Did my father survive the fire?””
Ellis looked away.
That was enough.
“Rachel.””
Her voice broke.
“I don’t know.””
The answer hurt.
But then she reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I found this after the incident.””
I took it.
“Why didn’t you give it to me?””
“Because I didn’t know if you were ready.””
I opened it.
Inside was one page.
My father’s handwriting.
Only one sentence.
*If Daniel ever returns, tell him the fire was not the beginning.*
My heart stopped.
There was more beneath it.
A final line.
One that made every piece fall into place.
*The person who started this is the person who saved him.*
I looked up.
“Who?””
Ellis didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
Because behind me, a voice spoke.
“You already know.””
I turned.
Colonel Victor Kane stood in the doorway.
But he wasn’t looking at me.
He was looking at the envelope.
And the fear on his face told me everything.
The truth wasn’t hidden anymore.
It was coming.
May you like
And when it arrived…
It would destroy the last person I expected.
