10: Chapter 10 Father and Son Vow to Find the Truth

The sound of the door closing echoed in the spacious living room for a moment, and then everything fell back into silence.

Link Warren sat on the sofa, still clutching the empty glass in his hand.

There was no water left in the glass, but he seemed unaware of this, maintaining his posture with his hands trembling slightly.

His eyes were fixed on a spot on the coffee table; he wasn't looking at anything in particular, his gaze just needed a place to rest.

He hadn't watched when Raymond was playing the video, because he didn't need to.

He was an eyewitness.

That image was already etched onto his retinas; he could see every detail even with his eyes closed.

"Dad."

Link spoke, his voice very soft, as if afraid of being overheard by someone.

Edward looked at him.

"I always used to think... that the Deep State they talked about was families like ours."

Link's mouth twitched—the movement didn't look like a smile, but more like his muscles were spasming out of control.

"The Warren Family has stood tall in Nevada for over a hundred years. From senators to governors, how many people had to come to Spring Mountain Manor to shake your hand before they could sit securely in their positions?"

"I thought we were the Deep State."

"I thought that in the Lighthouse Country, the so-called invisible, true power was centuries-old families like ours."

He raised his head and looked at his father.

The fear in his eyes hadn't dissipated, but beneath it, a little something else was revealed,

a kind of clarity belonging to a young person, a realization that comes after being slapped awake by reality.

"Today, I sat in that underground garage, watched that Grey Alien crawl out of the ventilation duct, watched those two Men in Black stun it with a weapon I've never seen before, and watched that woman take out that badge..."

"Even in my fear, I felt a sense of absurdity, because I was thinking: The Warren Family has been in Nevada for over a hundred years, and we didn't even know something like this was happening beneath the state?"

"We didn't even know an agency called the 'Federal Urban Pipeline Maintenance Department' was operating here?"

"How many years has this thing existed right under our noses, and we hadn't even heard its name?"

He took a deep breath, his fingers rubbing against the glass, making a faint friction sound.

"Dad, is... is the Deep State involved in this?"

"The real Deep State, not our kind, but that kind... the one from the legends..."

Edward Warren was silent for a long time.

Long enough that Link thought his father wouldn't answer the question.

Then Edward spoke.

His voice wasn't as steady as when he spoke to Raymond, nor as powerful as when he gave speeches in the Senate,

but rather a tired, hoarse voice, carrying a certain heavy tone.

"From today on, forget about this."

"Do not mention it to anyone."

"Your friends, those friends you play golf and hit the bars with... don't say a single word."

"Do not type any text about this on your phone."

"If you can't even do that, then that thing you saw in the parking lot today won't be the biggest problem the Warren Family has to face."

This wasn't an answer.

This was a command.

Link looked straight at his father.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

He knew his father was right.

Don't speak, don't spread, don't record—these are the most basic rules of self-preservation.

He grew up in a political family and had been instilled with these things since he could remember.

He could do it.

He could keep this secret buried in his gut, take it to the grave.

But the problem is...

"Dad, I can do it." Link's voice was very low, very low.

"I can never speak of it."

"But those people... those who control everything behind the scenes... do they know I can do it? Will they believe I can do it?"

His voice began to tremble.

"I've seen too many such things in the Lighthouse Country."

"What happened to those who knew things they shouldn't have known?"

"Some were shot eight times in the back, and the conclusion was suicide."

"Some had their brakes fail on the highway, and the conclusion was an accident."

"Some fell at home and hit the back of their heads, and the conclusion was still an accident."

"I always thought such things wouldn't happen to me. I am a member of the Warren Family, I am Edward Warren's son. Who would dare touch me?"

He let out a laugh.

The laugh was dry, short, and devoid of any mirth.

"Today I finally realized, there is always someone stronger out there."

"Those who control all of this behind the scenes have so much more at their disposal than we do."

"The technology they have might have long since exceeded all of our imaginations."

"Dad, what if they think I'm not safe enough? What if they think the Warren Family isn't safe enough..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

But even if he didn't finish, Edward understood.

Edward Warren stood up.

He didn't answer Link's question immediately, but stood by the window for a moment.

Outside the window was the brilliant night view of Las Vegas,

that city built of money and desire, shining in the dark background of the desert, like a neon dream that would never fade.

He had watched that city for most of his life,

and only today did he realize for the first time that he didn't actually truly understand this city,

didn't understand the things hidden underground.

He turned around and looked at his son.

The expression on his face was one Link had never seen before.

It wasn't anger, it wasn't fear, it wasn't that carefully calculated, fake smile typical of politicians, but something more thorough, more essential.

"I don't know," Edward said.

His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried a heavy weight.

"If those who control everything behind the scenes really dare to turn their knives on the Warren Family, then we will definitely put up a desperate fight."

"The Warren Family has stood tall in Nevada for over a hundred years; it wasn't achieved by paying protection money."

However, Link was still afraid.

His fear wasn't dispelled by his father's words; on the contrary, it deepened.

Because he thought of another layer, the truth that sent a chill down his spine.

"Dad, those people in the Deep State, they even dare to fight, catch, and study Aliens."

Link's lips were trembling.

"No matter how powerful the Warren Family is, we are still just flesh and blood."

"The technology they possess may have long since exceeded all of our imaginations."

"Our bodyguards, our security systems, might count for nothing in front of them."

"What if... what if we put up a desperate fight, but we can't even see whether the opponent is throwing a punch or a bullet?"

This sentence lingered in the living room for a long time.

Like a stone dropped into a deep well, waiting a long time before hearing an echo.

Edward Warren took a step, walked to the sofa, and stood still in front of his son.

He looked down at Link,

that son who had grown up in the lap of luxury, never suffered, and was raised in a bed of power.

He saw that Link's eyes were red, saw his chin trembling slightly, saw his fingers gripping the glass losing color from excessive force.

Twenty-six... too young, to face such things, too young.

"Link." Edward's voice suddenly became full of strength.

"Look up."

"Stand tall like a man."

Link instinctively raised his head and looked at his father.

"Don't cry."

"Tears won't solve any problems."

Edward said, enunciating every word,

"Forgetting about this, that is your business."

"But I will tell you what I am going to do next."

"Even if I die, I want to figure out before I die what that legendary Deep State actually wants to do."

"Who they are, where they come from, and what they want."

"What secrets they are hiding beneath our land, and what they are researching with that alien technology."

"I will find the answers to these questions, one by one."

His gaze was fixed on Link, his eyes burning with something Link rarely saw in his father.

"Even in death, the men of the Warren Family must never die in ignorance!"