Chapter 8 - EmilyI couldn't move.
The world narrowed to the face in front of me.
Her face.
My eyes.
My scar.
My mother's jaw.
She was crying.
“So,” she whispered, “you finally came.”
I took one step forward.
“Emily?”
She nodded.
Russell broke down first.
“Oh God.”
Emily stared at him.
“You're Russell.”
He nodded.
She looked at Samuel.
“You too.”
Samuel lowered his head.
“You knew where I was?”
“For years,” Emily said.
My chest tightened.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
She looked at me.
“Because they were afraid you'd come.”
“Who?”
“Wayne.”
“He's dead.”
Emily laughed bitterly.
“I know.”
She glanced at the ledger.
“He doesn't need to be alive to hurt us.”
“What does that mean?”
She pointed at my name.
“The number beside it isn't what Wayne paid.”
I looked closer.
“What is it?”
“He owed someone.”
“Who?”
Emily’s expression hardened.
“The person who still thinks he owns me.”
I stared at her.
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“Not here.”
Then a car engine roared outside.
Emily's face changed.
“They found me.”
Samuel moved toward the exit.
“Who?”
She grabbed my wrist.
“Don't ask questions. Just run.”
We burst through the rear door.
A black SUV tore around the corner.
Russell pulled me behind a concrete wall.
Someone shouted.
A gunshot cracked through the night.
I froze.
Emily dragged me down.
“Stay low!”
The SUV drove past.
Three seconds later, another followed.
When they were gone, we remained crouched in silence.
I looked at Emily.
“Are they after you?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“Because I took something.”
“What?”
“A file.”
“From where?”
“Wayne's lawyer.”
I stared.
“You stole a file from Wayne's lawyer?”
“After he died.”
My stomach tightened.
“What was in it?”
“Your mother's name.”
Samuel stepped closer.
“What else?”
Emily looked at him.
“Payments.”
My pulse raced.
“To whom?”
She took a deep breath.
“Judges.”
Nobody spoke.
“Doctors.”
She swallowed.
“Police.”
Russell looked sick.
“How long?”
“Thirty years.”
Then she reached inside her coat.
She pulled out a flash drive.
“This is why Wayne never wanted Linda to know about me.”
I stared at it.
“Why?”
Emily looked directly at me.
“Because the last payment was made after Wayne died.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who paid it?”
Emily handed me the flash drive.
“One of you.”
Russell recoiled.
“That’s impossible.”
Emily's gaze never left him.
“I never said it was you.”
The drive slipped from my fingers.
“Then who?”
May you like
She whispered:
“The payment came from your mother's account.”
