**CHAPTER 10 PROJECT PHOENIX**
I stared at the folder in front of me.
For several seconds, I couldn’t move.
The restaurant noise disappeared.
The conversations around me faded.
All I could hear was one sentence.
Your father created a plan to remove anyone who threatened his empire.
Including you.
I looked at Arthur.
“You’re telling me my father planned against his own daughter?”
Arthur didn’t answer immediately.
Because the truth was worse when spoken aloud.
“Yes.”
My fingers tightened around the folder.
“Why?”
Arthur looked out the window.
“Because Richard Whitmore doesn’t see people as family.”
He looked back at me.
“He sees them as assets.”
The words hurt because they were true.
My entire life, I had wondered why my father looked at me like a disappointment.
Why every achievement I made was never enough.
Why saving forty-seven sailors meant nothing compared to one mistake.
Now I understood.
I wasn’t his daughter.
I was a risk.
Arthur opened another document.
“Project Phoenix started five years ago.”
I scanned the pages.
It was a private intelligence operation.
Not military.
Not government.
Private.
Created by Whitmore Industries.
The purpose was simple.
Identify threats.
Control information.
Destroy anyone who could damage the company.
I looked at Arthur.
“How many people?”
His expression changed.
“Too many.”
My stomach tightened.
“Employees?”
“Employees. Journalists. Competitors.”
He paused.
“And anyone inside the family.”
I looked down.
My own name was there.
Celeste Whitmore.
Threat level.
High.
Reason.
Unauthorized discovery of classified corporate information.
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
My father had spent years convincing the world I abandoned him.
But the truth was...
he abandoned me first.
“Why are you helping me now?” I asked.
Arthur looked away.
“Because I helped him.”
That surprised me.
“What?”
“I signed documents.”
His voice became heavier.
“I believed Richard was protecting the company.”
He swallowed.
“I didn’t know how far he would go.”
I studied him.
A man carrying guilt.
A man who had spent years running from his own choices.
“You let him do this.”
Arthur nodded.
“Yes.”
The honesty caught me off guard.
No excuses.
No lies.
Just guilt.
“I was weak.”
I closed the folder.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“You were afraid.”
Arthur met my eyes.
“And what’s the difference?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I knew.
Fear had destroyed many people.
But courage was choosing what came next.
That night, I returned to my hotel.
The city was covered in rain.
I stood by the window.
Thinking about my father.
The man who raised me.
The man who betrayed me.
The man who tried to erase me.
My phone rang.
Admiral Reed.
I answered.
“Commander.”
“Admiral.”
There was silence.
Then he said:
“I heard about the hearing.”
“It’s only beginning.”
“I know.”
His voice became serious.
“Celeste, you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Men like your father don’t lose quietly.”
I looked outside.
“I know.”
“No.”
His voice lowered.
“You know how to fight enemies.”
A pause.
“But this is different.”
I understood.
May you like
Because enemies attack from the outside.
Family knows exactly where to hurt you.
