THE LULLABY KEY : THE FALL
CHAPTER 20: The President’s Daughter
Chloe Vance was twenty-eight years old, blonde, beautiful, and miserable.
She lived in a penthouse apartment in Georgetown, surrounded by art she didn’t like and furniture she didn’t choose. Her father was the President of the United States. Her mother was a former model who hadn’t spoken to her in three years. Her brother was a drug addict who had been in and out of rehab since he was sixteen.
She was the First Daughter, and she was drowning.
Lena found her at 2:00 AM, sitting on the roof of her apartment building, staring at the Washington Monument.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Chloe said without turning around. “Secret Service will be here in three minutes.”
“Then I’d better talk fast.” Lena sat down next to her. “Your father killed my father.”
Chloe laughed. It was a hollow sound. “My father has killed a lot of people. You’re not special.”
“I’m not asking for special. I’m asking for help.”
Chloe finally turned to look at her. Her eyes were red. She had been crying.
“Why would I help you? You’re trying to destroy my family.”
“Your family destroyed itself. I’m just holding up a mirror.”
Chloe was silent for a long time.
Then she said: “I know about Marchetti. I know about the network. I’ve known since I was twelve years old, when I walked into my father’s study and saw him talking to a man who wasn’t there. A hologram. A ghost.”
“August Marchetti.”
“I don’t know his real name. No one does. But I know how to find him. My father keeps a record of every conversation they’ve ever had. Audio. Video. Transcripts. It’s in a safe in the White House basement. The combination is my mother’s birthday.”
Lena’s heart raced. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’m tired.” Chloe’s voice cracked. “I’m tired of the lies. I’m tired of the secrets. I’m tired of watching my father become a monster. And I’m tired of being too scared to stop him.”
She stood up.
“Take me with you.”
Lena stared at her. “You’re the President’s daughter. If you’re caught with me, you’ll be arrested. Or worse.”
“I don’t care. I’d rather be dead than be complicit.”
Lena thought about her mother’s letter. About the choice she had made. About the cost of doing nothing.
“Okay,” she said. “But we do this my way. No heroics. No sacrifices. We get the evidence, we release it, and we disappear.”
Chloe nodded. “Agreed.”
They climbed down the fire escape, through the alley, into a waiting car.
Marcus was behind the wheel. Zero was in the back seat.
And Aris Thorne was holding a laptop with the source code fully downloaded.
“Welcome to the resistance,” Aris said. “We have coffee. We have bullets. And we have forty-eight hours to save the world.”
Chloe smiled. It was the first genuine smile she had worn in years.
“Then let’s get started.”
The car pulled away from the curb.
Behind them, the Washington Monument glowed in the darkness.
And somewhere in the White House, the President was watching.
He picked up his phone.
“Pike. They have my daughter. Find them. Kill them. And bring me her head.”
He hung up.
Then he poured himself a drink.
And laughed.