Part 3 — My Brother Wasn’t the Future of Aegis
I stared at the photograph until the screen went dark.
Nobody in the room spoke.
Then I called my mother.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Riley?”
Her voice sounded tired.
“Mom, is Dad there?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Is Mason there?”
Another pause.
This one was longer.
“No.”
I closed my eyes.
“When did he leave?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mom.”
“What is this about?”
I stood up.
“Did Mason talk to Dad after I left?”
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“Yes.”
“What did they talk about?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mom, listen to me carefully. Don’t go anywhere. Don’t open the door for anyone. And don’t call Mason.”
Her breathing changed.
“What happened?”
“I can’t explain it over the phone.”
“Riley, you’re scaring me.”
I wanted to tell her everything.
I couldn’t.
Not yet.
Hayes was already signaling to the analysts.
They were tracing the photograph.
I lowered my voice.
“Mom, did Dad ever tell you what Cerberus actually is?”
She didn’t answer.
That silence told me more than words could.
“Mom?”
Finally she said:
“Your father told me it was just a defense contract.”
I looked at Hayes.
He heard every word.
“Did he ever mention my name?”
Her voice cracked.
“Yes.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
I felt the room become very small.
“What did he say?”
“He said…”
She swallowed.
“He said Mason needed your help.”
I stared at the floor.
Of course.
That’s why Mason had been so interested in my career.
That’s why Dad had always dismissed what I did.
They weren’t proud of Mason because he was succeeding.
They were protecting something.
“Mom, lock the doors.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just do it.”
I ended the call.
Hayes walked toward me.
“We found the source.”
He turned one of the monitors around.
A map appeared.
The signal from the photograph had originated near my parents’ neighborhood.
Then another location appeared.
Aegis Dynamics headquarters.
I looked at him.
“Who is accessing the system?”
“We don’t know.”
“Then find out.”
An analyst suddenly shouted.
“Sir!”
Everyone turned.
The screen changed.
A new authentication attempt had appeared.
Someone was trying to enter Cerberus again.
This time, they weren’t using my credentials.
They were using Mason’s.
Hayes stepped closer.
“Can you trace it?”
“Working on it.”
The location began to resolve.
Texas.
Then the exact building.
Aegis Dynamics.
Mason’s office.
My brother was inside the building.
At 2:17 in the morning.
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
Hayes looked at me.
“You’re going to want to see this.”
The analyst opened a live security feed.
A grainy hallway appeared.
Mason stepped into view.
He wasn’t wearing the expensive suit from dinner anymore.
He wore black tactical clothing.
He walked directly toward a restricted server room.
Then he stopped.
Looked straight into the camera.
And smiled.
My brother had known we were watching.
He raised one hand.
In it was a small metal drive.
Then he held it directly toward the camera.
A message appeared across the bottom of the screen.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED OUT OF THIS, RILEY.
Nobody moved.
Then the feed went black.
Hayes turned to me.
“Do you know what he just took?”
I stared at the dead screen.
“No.”
The analyst looked at his terminal.
“We’ve got a file name.”
“What file?”
He hesitated.
Then read it aloud.
CERBERUS — BENNETT FAMILY ACCESS PROTOCOL.
My blood ran cold.
“Bennett family?”
Hayes looked at me.
“Riley…”
He opened the classified folder again.
There was one final page I hadn’t seen.
At the top was a photograph of my father.
Below it was another photograph.
My mother.
Then Mason.
And finally—
me.
Underneath all four names was a single sentence:
THE PROGRAM WAS NEVER ABOUT AEGIS.
Hayes stared at the page.
Then the secure phone on his desk began to ring.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
“What?”
He listened.
Then slowly looked at me.
“Your mother is missing.”
And at that exact moment, my phone received one final message.
Not from Mason.
Not from an unknown number.
From my father’s phone.
Come home alone.
And bring the original Cerberus key.