Chapter 12 - Mr. GrayMr. Gray didn't run.
He didn't need to.
He stood at the stairs as though he owned the house.
Harris raised his weapon.
"Hands where I can see them."
Mr. Gray smiled.
"I expected this."
"You kidnapped a child."
"No."
He looked at Lily.
"I protected her."
I stepped forward.
"From what?"
"Her grandmother."
That stopped me.
He reached into his jacket slowly.
Harris shouted:
"Don't."
Mr. Gray removed a small flash drive.
"Your father prepared an insurance file."
I stared.
"My father?"
"He trusted me."
"Then why did you help Evelyn?"
"Because she offered more."
He almost sounded ashamed.
"Money?"
"Survival."
I hated him.
But his voice lacked triumph.
"Your mother wanted everything."
"She wanted the property."
"No."
He looked at me.
"She wanted the archive."
"Why?"
"Because the archive doesn't just expose her."
He held up the drive.
"It exposes the developer."
"How high does it go?"
"Much higher than your family."
A siren sounded outside.
Mr. Gray looked toward the window.
"You have minutes."
"Before what?"
"Before the people who hired me decide I'm expendable."
He placed the drive on the floor.
Then he said:
"Your mother never ordered Clara's poisoning."
I frowned.
"What?"
"The pesticide was meant for Lily."
The room went silent.
"Why?"
"Because Lily heard something."
"What?"
"She heard Evelyn talking about the night your father died."
I looked at Lily.
She clung to Clara.
"She remembers."
Mr. Gray continued.
"The doll recorded it."
Then another voice came from behind us.
"No."
Evelyn.
She stepped out of the shadows.
She had escaped police custody.
May you like
And she was holding Clara at gunpoint.
"Nobody leaves."
