Jason Blackwell's Rise To Power

CHAPTER 7

Jason stood frozen at the top of the hidden staircase.

The voice came again from below. "Jason..."

His heart began pounding. He knew that voice. Or at least, he thought he did.

"Father?"

Marcus immediately grabbed his arm. "Don't go down there."

Jason pulled his arm away. "That was my father's voice."

"You never heard your father's voice.”

Jason turned toward him "What?"

Marcus stared at him. "You were six years old when Richard disappeared."

"I remember him."

"You remember what your mother told you about him." Jason said.

Jason frowned. "I remember his face."

"Do you?"

Jason stared at Marcus. "What are you trying to say?"

Marcus pointed toward the staircase. "Someone is using an old recording."

Jason looked back into the darkness.

His father's voice came again. "Jason, if you're hearing this, then they have finally found you."

Jason's expression changed.

Marcus stepped forward. "That's not possible."

The voice continued. "Don't trust anyone."

Jason's breathing became shallow. "Father..."

The voice became clearer. "I left something for you."

Marcus immediately looked at the black card in Jason's hand.

Jason noticed. "What did he leave?" He asked.

The voice answered. "The truth."

Jason took a step down the staircase before Marcus grabbed him again. "Wait."

Jason turned. "What now?"

"The recording hasn't finished."

Jason stopped.

The voice continued.

"Jason, there are three things you must understand. First, the money is not your greatest inheritance. Second, the Blackwell Protocol must never fall into the wrong hands."

"And third..." The recording paused and Jason held his breath. "...do not trust the Hale family."

Jason's face hardened. The recording suddenly stopped.

Silence returned.

Jason looked at Marcus. "How old is that recording?"

Marcus stared into the darkness. "At least twenty years."

Jason's eyes widened. "Twenty years?"

"Yes."

"Then my father knew this would happen?"

"Your father prepared for many possibilities."

Jason slowly descended the staircase and Marcus followed.

At the bottom was a small room with a single chair in the center. On the chair was a black box.

Jason approached it carefully. "What is that?"

Marcus shook his head. "I don't know."

Jason looked at him. "You worked for my father."

"That doesn't mean he told me everything," Marcus said. 

Jason reached for the box but Marcus immediately stopped him "Wait."

"Why?"

"There could be a security mechanism."

Jason looked at the box. "Then how do I open it?"

Marcus pointed toward the card. "Try the card."

Jason placed the black card against the box, and the small light turned green. The box opened and Inside was a photograph.

Jason picked it up, his hands immediately began trembling.

It was a picture of his father. But Richard wasn't alone. Standing beside him were three men.

Jason recognized one immediately as ”Victor Kane”.

The second man was unfamiliar and the third...

Jason's face changed. "That's impossible."

Marcus looked at the photograph. "What?"

Jason pointed at the third man. "That's Christian's father."

Marcus's expression became serious.

Jason stared at the picture, "My father knew Christian's father?"

"Apparently."

Jason turned the photograph over and there was a handwritten message on the back.

THE THREE FOUNDERS.

Jason looked at Marcus. "Three founders?"

Marcus nodded slowly, "Your father and those two men created the financial network."

Jason stared at the photograph. "Then what happened?"

"They fell apart."

"Why?"

Marcus took a breath, "Your father wanted to use the network to protect people."

"And the others?" Jason asked.

"They wanted control."

Jason looked down at the photograph again. "Christian inherited his father's empire."

"Yes."

"And Victor Kane?"

"He's trying to take control of everything that remains." Marcus said.

Jason frowned. "Then why did Christian say the money was bait?"

Marcus didn't answer.

Jason looked up. "Tell me."

Marcus hesitated, "The hundred billion dollars isn't the real prize."

Jason's eyes narrowed, "Then what is?"

"The Blackwell Protocol."

Jason looked at the black box. "What exactly is it?"

Marcus shook his head, "I don't know."

Jason stared at him. "You're lying."

"I'm not."

"You've been hiding information from me since I met you."

"Because knowing too much too quickly can get you killed."

Jason stepped closer. "My father is dead, my marriage is a lie, my mother is fighting for her life and now people are trying to kill me."

He pointed at the black card, "So stop protecting me from the truth."

Marcus remained silent.

Jason's voice became firm, "I want everything."

Marcus finally nodded, "Then you need to understand one thing."

"What?"

"Your father didn't trust the three founders."

Jason frowned, "But he worked with them."

"Yes."

"Then why?" Jason asked, confused. 

"Because he believed one of them would eventually betray him."

Jason looked at the photograph, "Which one?"

Marcus pointed at Victor. "Victor Kane."

Jason nodded slowly, "And Christian's father?"

"Dead."

"How?" Jason asked.

"Officially, heart failure."

Jason looked suspicious, "And unofficially?"

Marcus's expression darkened, "Poison."

Jason's eyes widened, "Who poisoned him?"

"We don't know."

Jason looked back at the photograph, "Then why did Christian inherit everything?"

Marcus answered quietly, "Because his father left him a message."

"What message?"

Marcus looked toward the black box, "That only a Blackwell could stop what was coming."

Jason frowned, "What was coming?"

Before Marcus could answer, the facility shook again and dust began falling from the ceiling.

Marcus immediately raised his weapon, "We have to leave."

Jason grabbed the black box, "Not without this."

Marcus nodded, "Take it."

They hurried back toward the staircase.

Suddenly, Jason's phone vibrated and he looked at the screen. A message had arrived from an unknown number.

YOUR MOTHER IS AWAKE.

Jason's heart jumped. He immediately called the hospital.

A nurse answered immediately. "Mr. Blackwell?"

"Yes."

"Your mother has regained consciousness."

Jason released a breath. "Thank God."

"But..."

Jason's smile disappeared, "But what?"

The nurse hesitated, "She asked for you."

"I'll come immediately."

"Mr. Blackwell..."

"Yes?"

"There's something you should know."

"What?"

The nurse lowered her voice, "Your mother said your father's name."

Jason froze, "What did she say?"

"She said..."

The nurse paused, "...Richard Blackwell is alive."

The call ended.

Jason stood motionless as Marcus stared at him. "What happened?"

Jason slowly lowered the phone. "My mother says my father is alive."

Marcus's face went completely pale, "That's impossible."

Jason looked at him, "That's exactly what everyone has been telling me tonight."

Suddenly, the lights in the facility went out again and a voice came through the speakers. This time it wasn't a recording it was live.

"Hello, Jason."

Jason recognized the voice immediately.

Christian.

"Where is my mother?"

Christian laughed softly, "That's the wrong question."

Jason clenched his fists, "Then give me the right one."

Christian's voice became cold, "Ask yourself why your mother spent twenty years lying to you."

The line went dead.

Jason stared into the darkness. For the first time, he wasn't thinking about the money.

He wasn't thinking about Davina, he wasn't even thinking about Christian

He was thinking about the one question that had suddenly become more important than everything else.

Was his father really alive?