Chapter 13 - The Last PieceCaleb crawled through the rubble.
“Lily!”
No answer.
He found Olivia injured near the collapsed stairwell.
“Where is she?”
Olivia pointed toward a tunnel.
“Martin took her.”
Caleb's blood ran cold.
He ran.
The tunnel led underground toward the river.
Footsteps echoed ahead.
Martin was escaping.
With Lily.
Caleb followed.
He reached the riverbank just as a helicopter lifted into the air.
Martin stood inside holding the baby.
Caleb shouted.
“Martin!”
Martin looked down.
“You cannot kill what you need alive.”
Then the helicopter disappeared.
Caleb's mother arrived moments later.
Her face broke when she saw Olivia.
“You lost Lily.”
Caleb nodded.
“I'll get her back.”
Police investigators traced the helicopter.
Martin had taken Lily to an abandoned research facility.
The same facility where Caleb's mother had once been held.
They entered at midnight.
The halls were empty.
Too empty.
Caleb heard a baby crying.
He followed the sound.
A room.
A crib.
Lily.
Alive.
Caleb rushed toward her.
But the moment he touched the crib, an alarm sounded.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Congratulations, Caleb.”
Martin.
“You found the final piece.”
A monitor turned on.
Martin appeared.
He held a folder.
Inside were the original trust documents.
“The fortune is yours.”
Caleb stared.
“Take it.”
Martin smiled.
“On one condition.”
“What?”
“Give me the children.”
Caleb laughed.
“You're insane.”
“You think this is about money?”
Martin leaned closer to the camera.
“The fortune doesn't matter.”
“Then what does?”
“Control.”
He revealed another file.
It contained names of powerful people across the country.
Judges.
Executives.
Politicians.
Doctors.
The operation was much larger than the Hart family.
Martin had been protecting it.
Lily was leverage.
Caleb looked at the screens.
“If I expose this…”
“Thousands of people go down.”
“Then so be it.”
Martin smiled.
“But your mother dies first.”
A second screen appeared.
Caleb's mother was being held in another room.
He froze.
“Mom!”
She looked directly at him.
“Don't give him anything.”
Martin's voice returned.
“Make your choice.”
Caleb looked at Lily.
Then at his mother.
Then at Olivia.
He realized the truth.
Martin had finally made one mistake.
He had gathered every witness in one place.
Caleb turned to the cameras.
“You wanted control?”
He smiled.
“Let's see what happens when the whole world is watching.”
He pressed a button.
Every document began uploading.
Every secret.
Every name.
Every payment.
The screen flashed:
UPLOAD COMPLETE.
Martin's smile disappeared.
“You son of a…”
Then the facility doors exploded open.
Federal agents stormed inside.
Martin was arrested.
But amid the chaos, Caleb couldn't find his mother.
She was gone.
Only her scarf remained.
May you like
And pinned to it was a note.
“Don't look for me.”
