Chapter 68 - The Voice in the Darkness
No one turned around immediately.
The tunnel became so quiet that Daniel could hear the distant dripping of water echoing through the stone.
The voice came again.
"That's far enough."
It wasn't shouted.
It didn't need to be.
The calm confidence behind those three words carried more authority than any threat.
Daniel slowly faced the darkness behind them.
A lantern flickered to life nearly fifty feet away.
An elderly man stepped forward, dressed in a charcoal overcoat that seemed untouched by the dust covering the tunnel.
His silver hair reflected the warm light.
His face...
Daniel had never seen it before.
Yet something about him felt strangely familiar.
Samuel instinctively positioned himself between Lily and the stranger.
"State your name."
The man smiled politely.
"I've had many."
"I'll settle for the one you were born with."
"I'm afraid that name belongs to someone who died a long time ago."
Daniel studied him carefully.
"You were the man speaking to Rebecca."
"Yes."
"You told her to keep me away from this place."
"I did."
"Why?"
The stranger's eyes shifted toward the enormous iron door.
"Because once that vault is opened..."
"...every lie protecting your family dies with it."
Daniel took one step closer.
"My family has lived inside those lies for decades."
The man nodded.
"I know."
"I helped build them."
For the first time since entering the underground complex, even the old caretaker appeared shaken.
"You..."
The stranger looked toward him.
"It's been many years."
The caretaker whispered a name so softly that only Daniel heard it.
"Jonathan..."
The stranger neither confirmed nor denied it.
Instead, he looked back at Daniel.
May you like
"I've been waiting much longer than you realize."
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