Chapter 13 - THE NIGHT OF BETRAYALWe returned to Atlanta before sunrise.
Agent Bennett warned us against it.
Garrett refused to stay behind.
Neither did I.
The old Miller house was surrounded by federal agents.
Inside, we found no one.
No Ethan.
No Brenda.
No sign of my father.
Then I noticed the chair in the study.
It had been moved.
Underneath it was a hidden compartment.
Inside was another photograph.
My father was sitting in the chair.
Beside him stood Ethan.
And behind them...
Christopher.
I turned slowly.
“Why are you in this photograph?”
Christopher went pale.
“I told you.”
“No.”
I held it up.
“This was taken before we met.”
He said nothing.
Garrett stepped forward.
“Christopher.”
He looked at us.
“I was working for Ethan.”
My chest tightened.
“For how long?”
“Before I met Rebecca.”
“What did he ask you to do?”
“Find Robert Miller's evidence.”
“And did you?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Christopher stared at the floor.
“I couldn't destroy it.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So you hid it.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Your father's photograph.”
The B-17 key.
The trust.
Everything led back to me.
“Then why stay with me?”
He looked at me.
“Because Ethan told me that if I ever left you, he would kill you.”
“And cheating?”
His eyes closed.
“Brenda and I pretended to be involved.”
“Pretended?”
“She needed to get into the network.”
“What about the messages?”
Real pain crossed his face.
“Some were fake.”
“Some?”
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
I turned away.
Garrett stood beside me.
“You've suffered enough.”
I nodded.
Then the lights went out.
A gunshot.
Agent Bennett shouted.
Everyone hit the floor.
We heard footsteps upstairs.
I recognized them.
Ethan.
He had been waiting for us.
We followed him into the attic.
He was holding a photograph.
My father's last photograph.
“You want the truth?” he said.
“Yes.”
“Then look.”
He threw it to me.
The back contained a single name.
Not Ethan.
Not Douglas.
Not Gertrude.
Not Christopher.
One name.
Evelyn Corbin.
I looked at Garrett.
His face went blank.
Ethan smiled.
“Your mother ordered the first payment.”
Garrett shook his head.
“No.”
“She funded the network.”
“No.”
“She had your father followed.”
“No.”
Ethan pulled a file from his coat.
“Ask her.”
Garrett stared at me.
I could see the battle inside him.
Then Evelyn entered the attic.
She looked directly at Ethan.
“You finally decided to tell them.”
Ethan smiled.
“You can't hide forever.”
Evelyn nodded.
“I know.”
She looked at Garrett.
“I did fund the first operation.”
He staggered backward.
“Mother.”
“I was trying to protect your father.”
“By laundering money?”
“By buying time.”
“What happened?”
“He found out about the network.”
“And?”
“They gave me a choice.”
“What choice?”
Evelyn's voice broke.
“Your father or you.”
Garrett stared.
“They threatened me.”
“And you chose me?”
“Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“They killed your father anyway.”
Silence.
I realized then that Evelyn's guilt had shaped the entire family.
But one question remained.
“Who leads them?”
Ethan laughed.
Then he looked at Christopher.
“Ask him.”
Everyone turned.
Christopher's face went pale.
“No.”
Ethan smiled.
“Tell her.”
Christopher shook his head.
“I can't.”
Ethan raised his gun.
Christopher looked at me.
Then he whispered:
“The head of the network is not a Corbin.”
“Then who?”
Christopher closed his eyes.
“My father.”
I stared at him.
“Your father is dead.”
“I know.”
May you like
He looked at me.
“That was the lie.”
