Chapter 12
The Cadillac reversed smoothly into the shadows and vanished down the private road without another word, leaving Jocelyn standing utterly alone over the silver dog tag. She stooped down slowly, her trembling fingers brushing the cold metal. The chain was violently broken, but the precise engraving was pristine. It undeniably read: David Keller. She rushed back to the SUV, her heart hammering violently against her ribs like a trapped bird. Clara was still blissfully asleep in her booster seat, entirely unaware of the tectonic plates shifting beneath their lives after surviving Katherine’s abuse. Jocelyn slammed the driver’s door shut, instantly locked the vehicle, and pulled out her encrypted satellite phone. "Nathan," Jocelyn said, her voice shaking noticeably for the first time all evening. "Phase Three is entirely complete," Nathan’s calm, tactical voice responded immediately over the secure connection. "Your father is securely in federal custody, and Katherine is currently being processed for securities fraud." "Forget them completely," Jocelyn ordered, stabbing the ignition button. The massive SUV roared to life. "I need a full tactical sweep of my primary residence. Tier one security protocols. I want eyes on Clara at all times." "Understood," Nathan said, his tone instantly shifting from a corporate enforcer to a hardened military operator. "What is the immediate threat level?" "Unknown. A black Escalade just intercepted me at the estate gates. They have David’s dog tags." Silence hung heavy on the encrypted line for three long seconds. "Jocelyn... David was officially declared KIA five years ago in Kandahar." "I know what the Department of Defense claimed!" Jocelyn snapped, slamming the heavy gearshift into drive. "But the man in the driveway knew about Richard bribing the Pentagon. They specifically knew about the clinical drug Katherine was developing before she callously killed those children in Ohio. They want Lumina’s assets." "I’m mobilizing the extraction team right now," Nathan said with urgent precision. "Go straight to the safe house. Do not stop for anything." Jocelyn gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. She had meticulously destroyed her family to protect her daughter. Now, she would burn down the rest of the world to find her husband.
