Chapter 4: The Secret Ethan Left Behind
The photograph never left my hand.
I stared at Ethan’s face until my eyes hurt.
Seven years.
Seven years of believing I would never see that smile again.
Seven years of forcing myself to accept a goodbye I never got.
And now there he was.
Alive.
Standing beside Ghost.
Standing beside someone else.
Commander Hayes watched me carefully.
“You need to breathe.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps telling me that.””
“Madison.””
“No.””
I held up the photo.
“You don’t get to tell me to calm down.””
My voice cracked.
“You knew.””
Hayes didn’t deny it.
“I suspected.””
“That’s not enough.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
I looked at him.
“From what?””
His answer came quietly.
“From the people who killed Ethan Cross.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
“Ethan isn’t dead.””
“No.””
Hayes looked toward the broken window.
“But the people who wanted him gone are still alive.””
Ghost walked toward me.
Slowly.
He placed his head against my hand.
The same way he used to do when Ethan was nearby.
A reminder.
A promise.
I touched his fur.
“Where did you go?””
The question wasn’t for the dog.
It was for Ethan.
The flash drive from the hidden compartment contained only one file.
One video.
One password screen.
And one clue.
ROOK.
I typed it.
Access denied.
I tried again.
ROOK7.
Denied.
Hayes watched.
“Ethan wouldn’t make it easy.””
“No.””
I stared at the screen.
“He would make it personal.””
I closed my eyes.
Then I remembered.
Not the battlefield.
Not the missions.
A small cabin during a storm.
Ethan had been teaching Ghost new commands.
I had asked why he created unusual words.
He shrugged.
“Because ordinary commands can be stolen.””
“What does that mean?””
He smiled.
“It means if someone hears ‘sit,’ they know what you’re asking.””
He looked at Ghost.
“But if you say something only two people understand…”
I smiled.
“Then it belongs to you.””
I opened the password field.
I typed the one thing Ethan always called me.
Not Madison.
Not Doctor.
The nickname he gave me when we first met.
Raven.
The screen opened.
Hayes leaned closer.
“What is it?””
I pressed play.
The video began.
Ethan appeared.
Older.
Thinner.
A scar across his face.
But alive.
My knees nearly gave out.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Madison.””
I covered my mouth.
His voice.
After seven years.
His voice.
“If you’re watching this, Ghost found you.””
He smiled faintly.
“I knew he would.””
A pause.
“I’m sorry.””
Those two words almost destroyed me.
“I’m sorry I let you believe I was gone.””
I whispered his name.
“Ethan…”
The video continued.
“I couldn’t come back. Not because I didn’t want to.””
His expression changed.
“Because every person who tried to help me disappeared.””
Hayes looked away.
Ethan continued.
“There is a group inside the system. They erased missions. They erased soldiers.””
He looked directly into the camera.
“They erased me.””
My hands shook.
“The person who knows everything is someone you already met.””
I looked at Hayes.
He looked confused.
Ethan continued.
“Do not trust Commander Hayes.””
The room went silent.
My head turned slowly.
Hayes froze.
“What?””
The video stopped.
Static filled the screen.
I stared at him.
He stared back.
“Madison.””
I stepped away.
“Don’t.””
His face changed.
“You can’t believe that.””
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.””
Ghost suddenly growled.
Not at Hayes.
At the door.
Someone was outside.
Hayes reached for his weapon.
The door opened.
A woman stood there.
Rain dripping from her coat.
Her eyes locked onto Ghost.
Then onto me.
And I knew her face.
Because she was the woman in the photograph.
The woman standing beside Ethan.
She stepped inside.
“I know what Ethan told you.””
My heart raced.
“Who are you?””
She looked at Ghost.
Then whispered:
“I’m the reason Ethan Cross is still alive.””
May you like
She paused.
“And I’m the reason he can never come home.””
