Chapter 7 - We ran.Neither of us knew where the voice had come from.
The warehouse erupted into chaos.
A bullet struck the metal beam above my head.
Claire pulled me behind a stack of crates.
“Down!”
I grabbed her.
“Where's Lily?”
“I don't know!”
Another shot.
Then silence.
I looked around.
No shooter.
No movement.
Just dust floating in the light.
Claire was breathing hard.
“I told you they were watching.”
“That wasn't their gun.”
“What?”
“The shot came from behind us.”
She stared at me.
“So?”
“So whoever fired it wasn't trying to kill us.”
I looked toward the screen.
“They were warning us.”
A door at the far end opened.
Lily stood there.
Alive.
Alone.
“Daddy!”
I ran.
She launched herself into my arms.
I squeezed her so tightly she complained.
“Careful!”
I laughed for the first time in days.
“I'm sorry.”
She buried her face in my chest.
“I knew you'd come.”
I looked around.
“Where is Tommy?”
“Hospital.”
“Good.”
Lily nodded.
Then whispered,
“Daddy, we have to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because the bad man is here.”
I looked over her shoulder.
A figure appeared at the far end of the room.
Tall.
Black coat.
Silver watch.
He stepped forward.
Marcus.
My twin.
He removed his gloves.
“Hello, Ethan.”
I stared at him.
“You kidnapped my daughter.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I saved her.”
“You nearly got my son killed.”
“I didn't touch Tommy.”
“Then who did?”
Marcus looked at Claire.
“She did.”
Claire flinched.
“I was protecting them.”
Marcus laughed.
“You call that protection?”
I moved toward him.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did our father hide you?”
Marcus's expression changed.
“He didn't hide me.”
“Then why did I grow up believing I was an only child?”
“Because he chose you.”
I didn't understand.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Our father had two sons. He believed one could inherit his legitimate business. The other would inherit everything he'd built in secret.”
“You got the secret.”
“Yes.”
“And I got the company.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you were the son he loved.”
I stared at him.
“And you hated me.”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I envied you.”
He looked at Lily.
“She was supposed to be the key.”
“To what?”
“The trust.”
I tightened my arms around my daughter.
Marcus continued.
“Our father knew he was being investigated.”
“By whom?”
“The government.”
“And?”
“He created a second account.”
“The twelve million.”
“Yes.”
“Why place it under Tommy?”
“Because Tommy was innocent.”
I looked at Claire.
She nodded.
Marcus sighed.
“Our father wanted to expose the people who had helped him.”
“Why didn't he?”
“Because he knew they would kill everyone.”
I stared.
“Who are they?”
Marcus smiled faintly.
“You've already met them.”
“Who?”
He pointed at Claire.
“Her family.”
Claire stepped backward.
“No.”
“My father was dead.”
Marcus shook his head.
“He wasn't.”
Claire's eyes widened.
“What?”
“Your father survived.”
Silence.
Marcus reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old photograph.
Claire's father.
Alive.
Standing beside the man from the original recording.
Claire began shaking.
“No.”
Marcus whispered,
“Your father has been running the organization for twenty years.”
I looked at the photo.
The man beside him...
was my father.
Alive.
Impossible.
“You're lying.”
Marcus met my eyes.
“Then call the morgue.”
I froze.
“What?”
“You never saw your father's body.”
I remembered.
The funeral.
The closed coffin.
The doctors had said the injuries were too severe.
My mother had never let me see him.
Marcus smiled without humor.
“Your father isn't dead.”
A voice came from behind us.
“That's enough.”
Everyone turned.
A man stepped out of the shadows.
Older.
Gray hair.
A scar across his cheek.
Claire dropped the folder.
Her knees almost gave out.
“Dad?”
The man looked at her.
Then at me.
May you like
And said,
“I'm sorry, children.”
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