Chapter 4: The Man Kane Failed To Erase
Darkness covered Deck Four.
Not the normal darkness of a ship at night.
This was intentional.
Someone had cut power to this section.
I reached for my flashlight.
The older sailor beside me whispered.
“Don’t.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because if they know exactly where we are, we won’t make it out.””
The words should have sounded dramatic.
They didn’t.
Because I had spent enough time around Kane to understand something.
His greatest weapon wasn’t anger.
It was control.
He controlled information.
He controlled fear.
And now someone was trying to control us.
I lowered my flashlight.
“Start talking.””
The man hesitated.
“You don’t know what you’re involved in.””
“I know enough.””
“No, you don’t.””
He stepped closer.
“My name is Daniel Brooks.””
The name stopped me.
“Brooks?””
He nodded.
“Tyler Brooks was my son.””
The young signalman.
The sailor who collapsed in front of Kane.
The sailor Kane called dead weight.
My expression changed.
“You’re saying you came aboard because of him?””
Daniel looked away.
“I came aboard because I tried to report what Kane was doing.””
“And?””
“And nobody listened.””
The silence between us felt heavy.
“What happened?””
Daniel looked around the room.
“This.””
He pointed at the boxes.
“Every person who questioned Kane ended up here.””
“Missing?””
“Erased.””
I studied him.
“Why are you still alive?””
A painful smile crossed his face.
“Because Kane thought I was too broken to matter.””
That sentence stayed with me.
Because it explained everything.
Kane didn’t just remove threats.
He underestimated survivors.
I heard voices outside the door.
Daniel immediately stepped back.
“They found us.””
I moved toward the entrance.
“Stay behind me.””
“You don’t understand.””
“I understand enough.””
“No.””
His voice became urgent.
“You still think Kane’s biggest secret is what happened to us.””
I stopped.
“What are you saying?””
Daniel looked terrified.
“The people on Deck Four weren’t the only ones investigating him.””
The footsteps outside became louder.
“Someone above Kane knew.””
“Who?””
Daniel opened his mouth.
Then the door handle moved.
Someone was trying to enter.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“You need to leave.””
“Not without answers.””
“You need to hear this.””
The door shook.
Daniel whispered:
“Kane wasn’t acting alone.””
The lock began to break.
My mind raced.
For weeks, I believed Victor Kane was the center of everything.
The man who controlled the ship.
The man who buried evidence.
The man who made sailors disappear.
But Daniel’s words changed the entire investigation.
Someone else was involved.
Someone powerful enough to protect Kane.
Someone who allowed him to continue.
The door finally opened.
A flashlight beam crossed the room.
A voice came from the darkness.
“Petty Officer Cole.””
I recognized it instantly.
Colonel Victor Kane.
My heart stayed calm.
Because now I knew something he didn’t.
He thought he was catching me.
He thought he was ending the investigation.
But he had just walked into the room where all his secrets were waiting.
Kane stepped inside slowly.
His eyes moved from me.
To Daniel.
Then to the evidence covering the tables.
For the first time since I met him, Colonel Victor Kane looked afraid.
Only for a second.
But it was there.
“You should have stayed in the ocean,” he said.
I stared at him.
“You should have checked whether I was really gone.””
Kane’s expression hardened.
Then Daniel spoke.
And the words that came next changed everything.
“Tell her the truth, Victor.””
Kane looked at him.
A long silence followed.
Then Kane said something I never expected.
“Daniel…”
His voice lowered.
“You don’t know who you’re protecting.””
I felt the room freeze.
Because Kane wasn’t looking at me.
He was looking past me.
At someone standing in the hallway.
Someone who had been there the entire time.
Someone I hadn’t noticed.
Then a familiar voice spoke.
“Colonel Kane is right.””
May you like
I turned.
And when I saw who stepped out of the darkness, I finally understood why Deck Four had been kept secret for so long.
