"Stay behind me."

They moved toward the staircase.

Each step creaked beneath their weight.

At the top was a narrow hallway with three doors.

The first door was open.

The second was locked.

The third stood slightly ajar.

David approached the third door.

He pushed it gently.

The room was empty.

Except for a small television sitting on a table.

Its screen was on.

A video was playing.

Jessica stepped closer.

The footage showed an older man sitting in a chair.

His hair was gray.

His face was thinner than Jessica remembered.

But there was no mistaking him.

Michael Miller.

Jessica's father.

She covered her mouth.

"That's him."

David stared at the screen.

The recording was dated three weeks earlier.

Michael looked directly into the camera.

Then he spoke.

"David, if you're watching this, you made it back."

He paused.

"There's something you need to know."

His expression became serious.

"Northbridge wasn't working alone."

David leaned closer.

Michael continued.

"They had help from someone inside the department. Someone who had access to the evidence archive, the personnel database, and the federal transfer system."

Jessica's eyes widened.

The video continued.

"His name is..."

The screen suddenly went black.

A loud electrical crack sounded from behind them.

Jessica spun around.

The room's lights went out.

Then a voice came from the darkness.

"Jessica."

She froze.

It was a man's voice.

A voice she recognized.

A voice she had not heard since she was a child.

"Sweetheart..."

Jessica slowly turned toward the doorway.

A silhouette stood at the end of the hallway.

And then the man stepped into the emergency light.

Michael Miller was standing in front of her.

Alive.

Older.

And holding a photograph.

He looked at his daughter.

His eyes filled with tears.

"Hello, baby."

Jessica couldn't breathe.

"Dad?"

Michael nodded.

"Yes."

She took one step toward him.

Then another.

But David suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Stop."

Jessica looked at him.

"Let go!"

David didn't release her.

His eyes were fixed on Michael.

"Who sent you?"

Michael's expression changed.

He looked at David.

Then at Jessica.

And finally, he said something that shattered the moment.

"David... you need to get away from my daughter."

David's face went pale.

"Why?"

Michael slowly raised the photograph.

It showed David Morgan standing beside a young woman.

The woman was Jessica's mother.

On the back of the photograph was a handwritten message:

THE FIRST SUBJECT WAS NEVER MICHAEL MILLER.

Michael looked at David.

"The first subject was you."

END OF PART 2

The mystery has only begun. Michael is alive, Jessica's family history is connected to the Northbridge operation, and David may have been involved in the conspiracy long before he became its investigator.