Chapter 25 - Bloodline of the Black Fleet
Claire glanced down at the silver pendant resting against Leo’s chest. For months, she had assumed it was merely an ornate family heirloom, an antique locket of Florentine silver. But now, under the high-intensity tactical flashlight, she noticed the faint micro-seams along its perimeter.
"This belonged to Captain Thomas Vance," Dante said quietly, leaning against the ruined bulkhead to take the weight off his bleeding leg. "Julian Vance’s older brother... and the naval intelligence officer who vanished twenty years ago off the coast of Valparaíso."
Claire felt a cold chill race through her veins. "Thomas Vance was my mentor at the Naval Academy. He was the one who recruited me into naval intelligence before he was declared KIA."
"He wasn't killed in action," Dante revealed, his voice dropping to a gravelly murmur. "He discovered that Julian and a faction inside the Pentagon were diverting decommissioned nuclear platforms into an off-grid syndicate fleet—Project Leviathan. Thomas stole the master cryptographic core, hid it inside that pendant, and came to my family to hide him."
Dante reached out, his soot-stained finger gently touching the silver casing. "Thomas died in our compound, protecting my family from Julian’s hit squads. Before he died, he placed this around my newborn son’s neck and keyed the biometric lock to two specific biological markers."
Claire’s breath hitched. "Whose markers?"
"Leo’s heartbeat..." Dante said, his intense gaze locking onto Claire’s eyes, "and the retinal scan of the only intelligence operative Thomas trusted with his legacy. You, Claire."
Hayes stepped forward, his eyes wide as he processed the revelation. "Admiral... that means Julian Vance didn't just want Moretti’s money. He’s been tracking the child because that pendant is the only key that can unlock the automated ballistic arrays of Project Leviathan."
Outside, the heavy thunder of approaching naval engines began to rattle the ocean surface. The frigate was closing the distance.
Claire looked down at the infant in her arms. Leo was looking at her with total, unquestioning trust, his tiny fingers still gripping her collar.
She looked at Dante. "Can you walk?"
Dante wiped the blood from his brow, a lethal, predatory grin cutting across his exhausted face. "With you commanding the deck? I could fight through hell itself."
May you like
"Then move," Claire ordered, turning toward the helipad. "We take this fight beneath the surface."
***
