Chapter 8 - The Man Who Watched Us GrowNobody moved.
My father stood in the doorway like a ghost that had finally become real.
Andrew lowered his weapon.
"You."
Our father looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
Andrew laughed.
It was a broken, bitter sound.
"You watched me all these years?"
"Yes."
"You let us bury you."
"I had no choice."
"You always had a choice."
Our father looked at me.
"I stayed away to protect you."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
My voice shook.
"Everyone lies to me and calls it protection."
He took one step closer.
"I didn't kill Andrew."
Andrew stared.
"Then why did you arrange the accident?"
"I didn't."
"Sebastian did."
Our father nodded.
"He used my name."
"Why?"
"Because I was trying to expose him."
He reached into his coat.
"I found the accounts. I found the shell companies. I discovered he was using Whitmore Holdings to finance something far worse."
"What?"
Our father hesitated.
"People."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"Human trafficking."
The word hung in the chapel.
Maria.
Subject 03.
Andrew.
The hidden ledgers.
Noah.
I felt sick.
Our father continued.
"Sebastian recruited people from ports and private shipping companies. Women. Children. Anyone who could disappear without immediate questions."
Andrew's fists tightened.
"And Noah?"
Our father looked at him.
"Sebastian learned Maria had evidence."
"And she had Noah."
"Yes."
"That's why he hunted him."
Our father nodded.
"He needed to know what Maria told Andrew."
I remembered her words.
She knows about Noah.
My father's expression changed.
"There was something else."
"What?"
"Maria didn't discover the trafficking operation accidentally."
"What then?"
"She was one of Sebastian's victims."
Silence.
Andrew closed his eyes.
"No."
"She escaped."
"How?"
"Your brother helped her."
I looked at Andrew.
"You met Maria before the accident?"
"Yes."
"That's how you knew her."
He nodded.
"And Noah?"
"He was born after."
Our father stepped closer.
"Noah carries the only remaining physical evidence."
I stared at him.
"What evidence?"
A small silence.
Then our father pointed toward the boy.
"His blood."
I looked at Noah.
"What?"
"Sebastian conducted genetic testing on the children."
My stomach turned.
"He was trying to identify family connections."
"Why?"
"Because some of the children came from powerful families."
Noah looked confused.
"Why are they important?"
Our father knelt.
"Because Sebastian used them as leverage."
I looked at Andrew.
"So Noah isn't just a witness."
"No."
"He is evidence."
"Yes."
Then the chapel lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the window.
My father grabbed Noah.
Andrew fired toward the trees.
Vanessa screamed.
The attackers began forcing the doors.
Our father looked at me.
"There's one place Sebastian won't enter."
"Where?"
"Your grandmother's room."
"Why?"
He stared at me.
"Because that's where the original ledger is hidden."
I felt a chill.
"The ledger proving everything?"
He nodded.
"And it also contains the name of the person who gave Sebastian access to this family."
"Who?"
My father looked at my mother.
She had been standing behind us.
She was crying.
May you like
Our father whispered:
"Your mother."
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