THE TRUTH ABOUT JULIANNE
"No..."
Julianne whispered.
"This can't be true."
The birth certificate slipped from her trembling hands.
She looked at Richard.
"You've always been my father."
Richard smiled sadly.
"I always will be."
"But I wasn't the man whose blood you carry."
Silence filled the bunker.
Even William Henderson stopped smiling.
Richard continued.
"When your mother discovered she was pregnant..."
"William wanted only one thing."
"An heir."
"A child he could control."
"When she refused..."
"...he threatened to take you away forever."
Julianne's eyes filled with tears.
"So you..."
Richard nodded.
"I married your mother."
"I gave you my name."
"And I loved you as my own daughter from the day you were born."
Julianne embraced him tightly.
"You are my father."
"You always will be."
Richard closed his eyes.
"Thank you."
Across the room, William laughed coldly.
"Touching."
"But sentiment doesn't change biology."
He stepped toward Julianne.
"You are a Henderson."
"Everything I built belongs to you."
Julianne slowly stood.
"No."
"I may have your blood..."
"...but I have Richard's heart."
William's expression darkened.
"You've made the wrong choice."
He suddenly reached into his jacket and pulled out a second remote.
Marcus shouted,
"Julianne!"
William pressed the button.
WARNING
SELF-DESTRUCT ACCELERATED
The countdown instantly dropped.
01:59
Red emergency lights flashed throughout the bunker.
Eleanor looked at the control panel in horror.
"He has activated the emergency protocol!"
"We don't have enough time to stop it!"
Marcus grabbed Julianne's hand.
"We have to leave!"
Richard shook his head.
"Not without the evidence."
Nathan? (No—Richard corrected himself with a weary smile.)
"The files are more important than me."
Julianne stared at him.
"I'm not leaving you."
Richard quietly handed her a small encrypted drive.
"This contains every document."
"Every bank account."
"Every name."
"If this survives..."
"...William loses forever."
Marcus took the drive.
"I'll protect it."
Suddenly, gunfire erupted outside the bunker.
A tactical team stormed in.
William looked toward the entrance...
Then smiled.
"You finally arrived."
The commander removed his helmet.
Every person in the room froze.
He saluted William and said,
"Sir..."
"The escape route is secure."
William looked back at Julianne one last time.
"This isn't over."
Then smoke grenades exploded across the chamber.
Within seconds...
William Henderson had vanished.
The countdown reached:
00:58
TO BE CONTINUED...
