Chapter 9 - THE LAST SECRETLily was alive.

For nine years.

She had lived less than twenty minutes away from us.

Someone had watched her.

Fed her.

Educated her.

Turned her into a weapon.

I couldn't stop staring.

“Who raised you?”

She looked toward Daniel.

“His people.”

“Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head.

“Not at first.”

Michael knelt in front of her.

“Lily.”

She stared at him.

“You're Michael.”

He froze.

“How do you know?”

“They showed me your picture.”

“Why?”

“To teach me who my father was.”

I looked at Daniel.

“You taught her this?”

“I taught her the truth.”

“No.”

“You were the one who abandoned her.”

“I didn't know she survived.”

“That doesn't matter.”

Michael looked devastated.

“What did they tell you about me?”

Lily answered calmly.

“That you tried to sell us.”

My father closed his eyes.

“That isn't true.”

Lily looked at him.

“I know.”

Everyone stared.

“How?”

“Because I found the recordings.”

“What recordings?”

Lily reached into her jacket.

She pulled out a tiny drive.

“Their meetings.”

Daniel stepped forward.

“Give me that.”

Lily backed away.

“You're afraid of it.”

Daniel stopped.

The girl smiled.

For the first time, I saw something in her eyes that frightened me.

Not fear.

Calculation.

She had been trained.

“What did they teach you?” I asked.

“How to listen.”

“How to fight.”

“How to remember.”

Then she looked at Mark.

“And how to survive people like him.”

Mark went pale.

“What did I do?”

Lily pressed a button.

A recording played.

Mark's voice filled the room.

The woman will cooperate.

Another voice.

Daniel.

And the children?

Mark answered.

I'll handle the mother.

I felt sick.

Another recording.

My mother's voice.

If anything happens to Sarah, I will release everything.

Then a man's voice.

My father's.

Please. Give me time.

I turned toward Dad.

“What did you do?”

He whispered:

“I signed another agreement.”

“What agreement?”

“To fake Emma's death.”

My blood turned cold.

“You told everyone she died?”

“Only temporarily.”

“Why?”

“To stop Daniel from taking her.”

“Then why did you keep her with Mark?”

“I thought Mark was loyal.”

I turned toward Mark.

He laughed bitterly.

“I was.”

“Then why hurt me?”

“Because I couldn't protect you anymore.”

I stared at him.

“That's your excuse?”

“I tried to push you away.”

“You nearly killed me.”

“I knew Daniel was watching.”

“So you became the monster.”

Mark looked at the floor.

“Yes.”

I couldn't forgive him.

Maybe I never would.

But then Lily said:

“There's one more recording.”

She inserted the drive.

A voice played.

My mother.

But this recording sounded different.

She was whispering.

If they ever find Emma, they will come for Lily too.

Then another voice.

A man's voice.

One I had never heard.

Then we eliminate both children.

I looked at Michael.

“Who is that?”

He had gone completely white.

“You know him.”

“Who?”

Michael stared at my father.

“Your grandfather.”

My stomach dropped.

“My grandfather died before I was born.”

Michael shook his head.

“No.”

He pressed a photograph into my hand.

An old man.

My mother's father.

Daniel's father.

Voss.

The founder of Aurora.

Alive.

At the bottom of the photograph was a date.

Taken two days ago.

I stared.

“He's alive.”

Daniel whispered:

“Yes.”

Suddenly the lights came back.

Every window in the house was filled with red laser dots.

Snipers.

A voice boomed through the speakers outside.

“Robert Hayes.”

My father stepped toward the window.

“It's him.”

“Who?”

“The man who started all of this.”

The speaker crackled.

Then the voice said:

“Bring me my grandchildren.”

May you like

I Came Home Early and Found My Housekeeper’s 3-Year-Old Daughter Scrubbi...

I returned home hours earlier than expected and discovered my housekeeper’s three-year-old daughter standing barefoot in the laund...

My Family Inherited Millions and Left Me a Ruined House. Four Months Lat...

The lawyer’s office fell silent as my grandmother’s will was read, and I watched my family inherit millions while I received nothi...

A Desperate Mother Begged a Billionaire for a Job to Feed Her Two Childr...

I was stranded on a lonely Arizona highway with two starving children, a pair of ruined suitcases, and no way to reach our destina...

The front door exploded inward.

And the house went up in flames.