Chapter 6 – The Daughter of Ghost One
Chapter 6 – The Daughter of Ghost One
Richard Walker stood frozen.
The interrogation room felt smaller by the second.
He looked at Daniel.
Then at Robert Hayes.
Then at the federal credentials still lying on the table.
His lawyer leaned over and whispered,
"Sir..."
"We should leave."
Richard ignored him.
His eyes never left Daniel.
"You..."
"...who are you?"
Daniel answered calmly.
"I'm Emily's father."
Richard's jaw tightened.
"I don't care who you used to be."
"My son is lying in a hospital."
"You nearly killed him."
Robert finally spoke.
"No."
"He showed remarkable restraint."
Everyone in the room looked at him.
Mark frowned.
"Restraint?"
Robert nodded.
"If Daniel Carter had intended to kill Jason Walker..."
"...your officers would've been collecting a body."
Silence.
No one laughed.
Because Robert wasn't exaggerating.
He was stating a fact.
Jefferson General Hospital.
Jason screamed as a doctor tried to set his broken wrist.
"AAAHHH!"
"Easy!"
The doctor sighed.
"It'll hurt."
Jason punched the bed with his free hand.
"I'll kill that old bastard!"
His mother grabbed his shoulder.
"Jason!"
"Enough!"
"No!"
"I don't care who he is!"
"I'm gonna finish him!"
The hospital room door opened.
Richard walked in.
His face was colder than Jason had ever seen.
"Dad!"
"You saw what he did to me?"
"Make him pay!"
Richard walked to the bedside.
Silence.
Then—
SMACK!
The slap echoed through the room.
Jason stared in disbelief.
Blood appeared on the corner of his lip.
"D...Dad?"
Richard's voice shook with rage.
"You stupid little idiot."
Jason blinked.
"What?"
Richard leaned closer.
"You didn't pick a fight with a janitor."
"You picked a fight with someone Washington buried for fifteen years."
Jason frowned.
"I don't understand."
"You don't need to."
Richard lowered his voice.
"From this second forward..."
"You stay away from Emily Carter."
Jason laughed despite the pain.
"You're kidding."
"I'm not afraid of—"
Richard grabbed him by the hospital gown.
"You will do exactly what I say!"
Jason had never seen fear in his father's eyes before.
That frightened him more than the slap.
Meanwhile...
Across town.
Emily sat alone in her bedroom.
A bag of ice rested against her swollen cheek.
The television downstairs kept replaying the video.
Neighbors had started gathering outside their small house.
Some brought flowers.
Others left handwritten notes.
One little girl placed a teddy bear on the porch with a card.
For Emily.
Emily stared at it through the window.
She couldn't understand.
Yesterday...
Nobody cared.
Today...
The entire town suddenly knew her name.
A soft knock came from her bedroom door.
Daniel entered quietly.
He had changed into a plain gray T-shirt.
The scars were hidden once more.
He carried two mugs of hot chocolate.
Just like he had every time she was sick as a child.
He handed one to Emily.
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Finally...
Emily asked the question that had been burning inside her.
"Dad..."
"Were they telling the truth?"
Daniel looked at her.
"About what?"
"Those men."
"The police."
"The man from Washington."
She hesitated.
"...Were you really a soldier?"
Daniel looked down at the steaming mug.
His reflection trembled in the chocolate.
"I was."
Emily's eyes widened.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Daniel smiled faintly.
"Because I wanted you to have a normal father."
She laughed bitterly.
"You fix broken lockers."
"You burn pancakes every Sunday."
"You can't even braid my hair."
Daniel chuckled.
"I know."
She looked into his eyes.
"But yesterday..."
"...you looked like a completely different person."
The smile faded.
"I hoped you'd never have to see that man."
Emily reached for his hand.
"Dad..."
"Those scars..."
"...did they hurt?"
Daniel looked at the faded marks across his knuckles.
"They used to."
"And now?"
He looked at her.
"Now..."
"The only thing that hurts..."
"...is seeing you cry."
Emily couldn't hold back anymore.
She wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry..."
"I caused all this."
Daniel hugged her tightly.
"No."
"They did."
"And it's over."
For a brief moment...
It almost felt true.
At the same time...
Washington, D.C.
A secure conference room.
No windows.
No phones.
Only a long black table.
Five senior officials sat in silence.
A classified file lay in the center.
Across the cover was one name.
DANIEL CARTER
One of the officials broke the silence.
"The video's everywhere."
Another sighed.
"We buried Ghost One for fifteen years."
"And now the whole country wants to know who he is."
A woman in a navy suit folded her hands.
"The press is already asking questions."
"What do we tell them?"
Silence.
Then the oldest man in the room spoke.
"We tell them nothing."
Another official shook his head.
"That's not our biggest problem."
He slid another folder across the table.
The others opened it.
Every face changed.
One sentence was highlighted in red.
Operation Black Horizon — Internal Review Requested.
Another official whispered,
"...Who authorized this?"
The answer came quietly.
"He did."
Everyone looked up.
"You mean..."
The man nodded.
"Daniel Carter."
"He finally requested the classified files."
The room fell completely silent.
Because every person at that table understood what that meant.
After fifteen years...
Ghost One wasn't just protecting his daughter anymore.
May you like
He was coming back for the truth.
End of Chapter 6
