Chapter 12 - Clara couldn't move.Tommy.
Standing beside Ray.
Calm.
Alive.
Smiling.
“No.”
Liam slammed against the steel door.
“Clara!”
She couldn't answer.
Her father touched the screen.
“Your brother has always been the ambitious one.”
Clara shook her head.
“He was helping me.”
“He was using you.”
Tommy's voice came through the speakers.
“Clara, listen.”
She stepped closer.
“Tommy?”
“I never wanted Lily to suffer.”
Ray stood behind him.
“I warned you,” Tommy continued.
Clara felt tears forming.
“About what?”
Tommy looked into the camera.
“Liam.”
Liam stopped struggling.
Tommy continued.
“He isn't protecting you.”
Her father smiled.
“Ask him what happened to my father.”
Clara turned toward Liam.
“What did you do?”
Liam stared through the bars.
“Nothing.”
Tommy laughed.
“That's what he always says.”
Clara's head spun.
“Tell me the truth.”
Liam's voice was low.
“My father killed your mother.”
Silence.
Clara felt the floor disappear beneath her.
“He did.”
“Yes.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you still came into the diner.”
Liam looked at her.
“I didn't know who you were.”
“That's not true.”
“I knew your last name.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Liam closed his eyes.
“I suspected.”
Clara stepped backward.
“Suspected?”
“When I saw you, I thought you might be connected.”
“And you still let me get close.”
“Yes.”
She stared.
“You used me.”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Liam looked directly at her.
“Because after the first day, it stopped being about your family.”
Clara's eyes filled.
He continued.
“I wanted to keep you alive.”
Her father laughed.
“Touching.”
Then the steel door suddenly opened.
Liam stepped through.
He had escaped.
Clara turned toward him.
“What happened to the door?”
“Bobby.”
Liam grabbed her hand.
“Move.”
They ran.
Gunfire erupted behind them.
Marcus appeared from the darkness.
He fired toward Clara's father.
The shot missed.
Her father disappeared through a hidden passage.
Marcus approached.
“You finally know.”
Clara glared.
“You lied too.”
Marcus shrugged.
“Everyone lied.”
“Where is Lily?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
Marcus looked at Liam.
“Your father has her.”
Liam froze.
“Then we find him.”
Marcus smiled.
“That's exactly what he wants.”
They returned to the church.
Under the floor, they found the red door.
Liam inserted the red key.
It opened.
A staircase descended into darkness.
At the bottom was a laboratory.
Old equipment.
Computer terminals.
Photographs.
And dozens of files.
One name appeared on almost every page.
LILY HIGGINS.
Clara touched the screen.
A recording started automatically.
Her mother appeared.
“If you're watching this, Lily has remembered.”
Clara's heart stopped.
Miriam continued.
“She knows where the hidden account is.”
Liam leaned closer.
“What account?”
Miriam looked terrified.
“Billions.”
Clara stared.
“The Red Ledger wasn't a ledger.”
“It was an account.”
Miriam continued.
“Money stolen from politicians, criminal organizations, corporations and law enforcement.”
Liam whispered.
“That explains everything.”
Miriam looked directly into the camera.
“But money isn't the dangerous part.”
She paused.
“The dangerous part is the names.”
The screen flickered.
Miriam whispered:
“The list proves who owns California.”
Then the screen went black.
Behind them, footsteps echoed.
Clara turned.
Ray stood at the top of the stairs.
He was holding Lily.
A gun pressed against her head.
“Drop your weapons.”
Liam's eyes went cold.
May you like
Ray smiled.
“Now we can finally talk.”
