CHAPTER 14 Blood Authorization
The cavern fell into a heavy silence.
Everyone looked at Elena.
Even she couldn't believe what she had just heard.
Margaret's words echoed through the underground chamber.
"The Archive recognizes only one remaining blood authorization."
"You."
Elena slowly shook her head.
"You're lying."
Margaret smiled.
"I rarely waste time doing that."
Richard stepped in front of his daughter.
"She isn't going anywhere with you."
Margaret laughed softly.
"You still think this is about me."
She lifted the remote control.
"The Archive doesn't care who wants access."
"It only recognizes blood."
Michael frowned.
"Why Elena?"
Margaret looked directly at him.
"Because Richard was never the final administrator."
Everyone turned toward Richard.
His face had gone pale.
Rachel whispered,
"You told her?"
Richard slowly nodded.
"Only once."
Elena stared at her father.
"What didn't you tell me?"
Richard swallowed.
"When you were born..."
"...I transferred every emergency authorization to you."
Silence.
"You were only a few hours old."
"I never thought anyone would find the documents."
Margaret smiled.
"Oh, Richard."
"I found everything."
Daniel stepped beside Elena.
"So she opens the Archive."
"Then what?"
Gabriel answered before Margaret could.
"Then Phoenix dies."
Margaret laughed again.
"No."
"The Archive isn't a weapon."
"It is a vault."
"It contains every identity."
"Every transaction."
"Every operation."
"If it's destroyed..."
"...thousands of powerful people disappear with it."
Frank frowned.
"You mean they're blackmailing governments."
Margaret tilted her head.
"I prefer the word... influence."
The countdown echoed through hidden speakers.
01:57:18
Rachel looked toward the broken railway bridge.
"We're wasting time."
Michael examined the chasm.
The explosion had destroyed the tracks.
Nearly forty feet separated both sides.
No easy crossing.
Daniel looked around.
"There has to be another route."
Frank pointed upward.
"There."
An old steel maintenance bridge hung near the cavern ceiling.
Rust covered every cable.
It looked decades old.
Michael frowned.
"That bridge won't hold all of us."
Margaret smiled.
"It won't."
Richard immediately understood.
"She wants us separated."
Gabriel nodded.
"Exactly."
Suddenly—
A sharp beeping came from the Project Phoenix briefcase.
Michael opened it.
The hidden flash drive had activated again.
A holographic message appeared.
Claire.
Alive.
Recorded only days earlier.
Everyone fell silent.
Claire looked directly into the camera.
"If you're seeing this..."
"...Margaret has already reached the cavern."
Richard whispered,
"Claire..."
The recording continued.
"There are two ways into the Archive."
"One is obvious."
"One was built for children."
Everyone looked confused.
Children?
Frank's eyes widened.
"The ventilation tunnels."
Rachel snapped her fingers.
"They're small enough."
Michael immediately turned toward Lily.
"No."
Rachel shook her head.
"Not Lily."
She looked at Elena.
"The baby."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Daniel frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Rachel pointed toward the hologram.
Claire continued speaking.
"When Elena becomes a mother..."
"...the Archive will recognize the next generation."
Elena instinctively placed both hands over her stomach.
Richard looked horrified.
"No..."
Margaret smiled.
"Now you understand."
Daniel stepped protectively in front of Elena.
"Nobody is using my child."
Margaret's voice grew colder.
"You misunderstand."
"I'm trying to save your child."
Michael closed the hologram.
"Enough."
He looked toward the maintenance bridge.
"I'll cross first."
Richard grabbed his arm.
"It's suicide."
Michael smiled faintly.
"I've survived worse."
Without another word...
Michael climbed the rusted support ladder.
The bridge creaked beneath his weight.
One careful step.
Then another.
The steel cables groaned.
Halfway across...
A loud SNAP echoed through the cavern.
One cable broke.
The bridge lurched violently.
Lily screamed.
"Uncle Michael!"
Michael grabbed the railing just before falling into the darkness below.
Daniel rushed toward the ladder.
"I'm coming!"
Michael looked back.
"No!"
"The bridge won't hold two people."
Across the chasm...
Margaret calmly watched.
She never moved.
She never flinched.
Almost as though she already knew what would happen.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes.
"She's waiting."
Rachel nodded.
"For what?"
Gabriel didn't answer.
Michael pulled himself forward inch by inch.
Only ten feet remained.
Five.
Three.
Then—
Another cable snapped.
The entire bridge collapsed.
Richard shouted,
"Michael!"
Everyone watched in horror as the steel structure plunged into the abyss.
For one terrible second...
Michael disappeared.
Then—
A hand shot upward from the cliff face.
Michael had caught an old maintenance pipe.
Dangling hundreds of feet above the underground river.
Daniel dropped to his stomach.
"Hold on!"
Michael gritted his teeth.
"I can't..."
The pipe slowly bent under his weight.
Metal screamed.
It wouldn't last.
At that exact moment...
A voice echoed from beneath the cliff.
Calm.
Unfamiliar.
"Don't let go."
Everyone looked down.
Far below...
Standing on a narrow ledge hidden beneath the collapsed bridge...
Was an elderly man carrying a lantern.
He looked up at Michael.
Then at Richard.
Richard's eyes widened.
"It can't be..."
Frank whispered,
"I thought he died before the estate was even built."
The old man smiled.
May you like
"I've been waiting a very long time..."
"...for the Bennetts to come home."
