Chapter 8: The Man Outside the Door
For twenty years, I had imagined my father’s last moments.
A thousand versions.
A thousand possibilities.
Maybe he had been scared.
Maybe he had been brave.
Maybe he had fought until the end.
But I had never imagined this.
That he had been alive.
That someone had seen him.
That Colonel Victor Kane knew exactly what happened.
And that he had hidden it.
I stared at Captain Michael Vale.
“You expect me to believe that?””
Vale didn’t look offended.
He looked tired.
Like he had spent two decades waiting for someone to ask that question.
“I don’t expect you to believe anything.””
His eyes moved around the room.
“I expect you to listen.””
Kane stepped forward.
“Michael, stop.””
Vale looked at him.
The anger in his face was immediate.
“Don’t tell me to stop.””
The room went silent.
Because nobody talked to Kane like that.
Not anymore.
Vale pointed toward the sealed doorway.
“You remember this place?””
Kane didn’t answer.
“You remember the screams?””
Still nothing.
“You remember who was standing beside you?””
Kane’s jaw tightened.
“Enough.””
“No.””
Vale’s voice became sharper.
“Not enough.””
He looked at me.
“Your father was the chief systems engineer during the testing.””
I listened.
“Your mother was one of the medical officers assigned to the emergency response team.””
My throat tightened.
“They were not supposed to be on Deck Four when the fire started.””
“Then why were they?””
Vale looked at Kane.
“Because they found out the truth.””
The answer landed heavily.
I looked at Kane.
“What truth?””
Kane said nothing.
Vale continued.
“The equipment wasn’t failing.””
Hale looked up.
“What?””
Vale nodded.
“The system was sabotaged.””
The room changed.
Everyone reacted differently.
Hale looked confused.
Ellis looked horrified.
Kane looked angry.
Not surprised.
Angry.
“You know that isn’t true.””
Vale laughed quietly.
“That’s your defense?””
He stepped closer.
“After twenty years, that’s all you have?””
Kane’s voice hardened.
“You disappeared.””
“Yes.””
“Everyone thought you died.””
“Yes.””
“You let people believe that.””
Vale looked at him.
“You made sure they believed that.””
The accusation hung there.
I looked between them.
“What happened?””
Vale looked at me.
“Your father discovered someone had altered the safety reports.””
“Who?””
Vale didn’t answer immediately.
That scared me.
Because the truth was obviously worse than I expected.
“He discovered that the system had been intentionally damaged before the test.””
Hale whispered:
“Someone wanted it to fail.””
Vale nodded.
“Yes.””
Tyler looked confused.
“Why?””
Nobody answered.
Then I realized.
“Because if it failed…”
I looked at the damaged equipment.
“They could blame the system.””
Vale nodded.
“And erase the people who knew it was sabotage.””
The room went quiet.
Kane finally spoke.
“You’re making assumptions.””
Vale turned.
“No.””
His voice was cold.
“I’m telling him what happened.””
Kane stepped closer.
“You have no evidence.””
Vale smiled.
“I have more than evidence.””
He reached inside his jacket.
Everyone reacted.
My hand moved toward my weapon.
But Vale only pulled out a small object.
A damaged memory drive.
Old.
Scratched.
Burned at one corner.
He handed it to me.
“This was recovered from the engineering terminal.””
I looked at it.
“What is it?””
“Your father’s final report.””
Kane moved suddenly.
“Don’t.””
That one word revealed everything.
Not anger.
Fear.
Real fear.
I looked at Kane.
“You know what’s on this.””
He said nothing.
Vale smiled sadly.
“That’s why he tried to bury it.””
I turned the drive over in my hand.
“So why didn’t you reveal this before?””
Vale looked away.
“Because I was afraid.””
The honesty surprised me.
“Of Kane?””
Vale nodded.
“Of what would happen if people knew.””
“You survived.””
“Yes.””
“But you hid.””
His expression changed.
“Yes.””
I expected anger.
Instead, I saw regret.
“I was a coward.””
The answer was unexpected.
He continued.
“But I was a coward who stayed alive long enough to tell you.””
A low alarm interrupted him.
Everyone looked toward the door.
Hale checked his device.
His face changed.
“What?””
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“What is it?””
He looked at me.
“Someone triggered a ship-wide evidence purge.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
“It means every digital record connected to Deck Four is being deleted.””
Ellis went pale.
“Kane?””
Everyone looked at him.
But Kane shook his head.
“No.””
Nobody believed him.
Then he said:
“It isn’t me.””
The room went silent.
And somehow, that was worse.
Because if it wasn’t Kane…
Then someone else had access.
Someone else was controlling this.
Hale typed rapidly.
“Who initiated it?””
The screen loaded.
Everyone watched.
Then the name appeared.
I felt the room disappear.
*LIEUTENANT DANIEL REEVES.*
Tyler stared.
“Sir…”
I stepped back.
“No.””
Ellis looked at the screen.
“That’s impossible.””
Kane looked at me.
And for the first time, he looked genuinely confused.
Someone was using my identity.
Someone wanted me blamed.
Hale shook his head.
“Your credentials are being used.””
“I didn’t do that.””
“I know.””
“Then stop looking at me like I did.””
Hale looked away.
“I’m not.””
But someone was.
Outside the room, footsteps approached.
Fast.
Multiple people.
Security.
Kane looked toward the door.
“They’re coming.””
Ellis turned to him.
“For you?””
He didn’t answer.
That was interesting.
The door opened.
A group of armed security personnel entered.
The officer in front raised his weapon.
“Lieutenant Daniel Reeves.””
Nobody moved.
The officer continued.
“You are under arrest for unauthorized access, evidence destruction, and interference with a federal investigation.””
Tyler stepped forward.
“That’s not true.””
The officer ignored him.
I looked at Kane.
Waiting.
Surely now he would stop this.
Surely now he would explain.
Instead, Kane remained silent.
That hurt more than I expected.
Because maybe part of me still believed there was something human left inside him.
Maybe I wanted to believe the man who had saved a child decades ago wasn’t the same man who had thrown me into the ocean.
The officer stepped closer.
“Lieutenant.””
I raised my hands slowly.
But before they could grab me, Vale spoke.
“Wait.””
The officer turned.
Vale walked forward.
“I was the one who opened Deck Four.””
Everyone looked at him.
“What?””
Vale continued.
“I accessed the system.””
Kane’s eyes narrowed.
“Michael.””
Vale ignored him.
“I sent the messages.””
The room exploded with reactions.
Ellis stared.
Hale looked shocked.
Tyler looked confused.
I stared at Vale.
“Why?””
He looked at me.
“Because you needed to know.””
The officer raised his weapon.
“You’re admitting to tampering with military systems?””
“Yes.””
“Then you’re coming with us too.””
Vale smiled faintly.
“I expected that.””
Then he looked at me.
“But before I go…”
He reached into his pocket.
This time, he pulled out a small photograph.
Old.
Damaged.
He handed it to me.
I looked down.
The picture showed a group of people standing outside Deck Four.
A younger Kane.
A younger Ellis.
Hale.
Vale.
And two people I had never seen before.
My parents.
My hands started shaking.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written a message.
A message in my father’s handwriting.
I knew because I remembered it.
Even after twenty years.
Only three words.
*KANE DIDN’T LOCK IT.*
I looked up.
Vale was watching me.
“Your father found out the truth.””
My voice was barely a whisper.
“Then who did?””
Vale looked toward the ceiling.
Toward the ship above us.
Toward everyone listening.
And he answered:
“The person who had the most to gain from everyone believing Colonel Kane was guilty.””
The lights suddenly went out.
Complete darkness.
A gunshot echoed.
Someone screamed.
When the emergency lights returned…
Vale was gone.
And on the floor where he had been standing was another message.
May you like
Written in fresh ink.
*YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE WRONG MONSTER.*
