Chapter 6 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be DeadBy noon, Marcus had uncovered something unbelievable.
Edward Cross had officially died twelve years ago.
Heart failure.
Private funeral.
Buried in a cemetery outside Houston.
Except the death certificate was fake.
So was the burial record.
Marcus pulled a photograph from an old intelligence file.
Edward Cross stood beside my grandfather.
Both men were smiling.
Behind them was a company logo.
A black compass.
I recognized it immediately.
My grandfather's private security division had once used that symbol.
I looked at Marcus.
“What was Black Compass?”
“An off-book security organization.”
“Private military?”
“Something worse.”
“How worse?”
Marcus hesitated.
“They specialized in making people disappear.”
The phrase hung in the room.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“I knew there was something.”
“Something?”
“Daniel told me his father handled problems.”
Marcus nodded grimly.
“Edward built the network.”
“What network?”
“A system of shell companies, informants, surveillance teams and corrupt officials.”
I remembered the video.
The masked men.
The disabled cameras.
The staged accident.
Everything pointed toward Black Compass.
Then Marcus showed me a bank transfer.
One account was still active.
Payments had been made monthly for eight years.
The recipient:
Emily Carter.
I stared.
“Why would they pay my supposedly dead sister?”
Marcus zoomed in.
“That's the question.”
A new message appeared on my phone.
From Emily.
James, don't trust Vanessa.
I looked up.
Vanessa was standing across the room.
She saw the message.
Her face collapsed.
“No.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
I showed her the screen.
She started crying.
“I didn't send that.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“Then who did?”
A second message arrived.
They found the safe house.
Marcus immediately moved to the window.
Nothing.
Then the lights went out.
Lily screamed.
I grabbed her.
“Stay behind me.”
The door exploded inward.
Three men rushed inside.
Marcus fired.
One fell.
Another ducked behind the kitchen counter.
Vanessa ran toward the hallway.
I caught her.
“Where are you going?”
“To Lily!”
I hesitated.
Then a voice came through the darkness.
“James.”
I knew that voice.
Ryan.
He stepped into the doorway.
No wedding suit now.
No smile.
Just a gun in his hand.
Lily froze.
“Daddy?”
Ryan looked at her.
His face softened.
“Lily.”
She moved toward me instead.
Ryan's eyes hardened.
“You don't understand what you're doing.”
I stood between them.
“Where's Emily?”
“You killed her.”
“You've been saying that for eight months.”
Ryan's gun trembled.
“She was supposed to stay dead.”
“Supposed to?”
He closed his eyes.
Then whispered:
“They promised me my family would be safe.”
“What family?”
Ryan looked at Lily.
Then at Vanessa.
Then at me.
“You think I'm the villain.”
I stepped forward.
“You hit a seven-year-old child.”
“I know.”
“You lied about her mother.”
“I know.”
“You helped imprison Emily.”
His face broke.
“Yes.”
The confession landed like a hammer.
“But I never ordered anyone to kill her.”
“Who did?”
Ryan looked toward the ceiling.
“Edward Cross.”
The room went silent.
Then a shot came from outside.
Ryan jerked backward.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Lily screamed.
He collapsed.
I dropped beside him.
His lips moved.
I leaned closer.
He whispered:
May you like
“Emily isn't the only one who survived.”
Then he died.
