Chapter 4 - HER MOTHER'S SECRETGabriel dragged Harper through a hidden passage behind the library.
They emerged inside the wine cellar.
Men were shouting above them.
Police.
At least six.
Gabriel checked the security monitors.
The cameras had been disabled.
"Someone inside helped them."
Harper leaned against the wall.
"My mother."
Gabriel looked at her.
"You know something."
"I remember a woman."
"Your mother?"
"I don't know."
"Tell me everything."
Harper closed her eyes.
She was six years old again.
Standing in a kitchen.
Her mother was crying.
A little girl was hiding beneath a table.
A man in a police uniform was standing near the door.
Harper couldn't remember his face.
Only the badge.
Precinct 12.
She opened her eyes.
"Derek wasn't the first."
Gabriel's expression hardened.
"What?"
"My mother was afraid of the police."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Try."
Harper stared into the darkness.
"She told me never to trust a man with a silver badge."
Gabriel looked at his own reflection in the wine bottles.
"Anything else?"
"She said one day someone would come looking for me."
"Did they?"
Harper looked at him.
"Maybe you did."
Gabriel shook his head.
"No."
He took out his phone and called someone.
"Bring me Victoria Kane."
Harper stared.
"She's here?"
"She owns half the security system."
"Then why hasn't she been arrested?"
"Because she wasn't the one who brought the police."
A sound came from behind them.
Footsteps.
Gabriel raised his gun.
A voice spoke.
"Put it down."
Victoria stepped from the shadows.
She was holding a gun.
Harper stared at her.
"You."
Victoria smiled sadly.
"I was hoping you wouldn't remember."
Gabriel stepped between them.
"What did you do?"
Victoria lowered her weapon.
"I kept you alive."
"You killed Emma."
Victoria's expression collapsed.
"No."
"Then explain."
Victoria looked at Harper.
"Your mother was part of a witness protection operation."
Harper felt dizzy.
"What?"
"She saw something she shouldn't have seen."
"What?"
Victoria swallowed.
"Your mother discovered that officers inside Precinct 12 were running an illegal operation. Extortion. Drug trafficking. Evidence manipulation. They were taking money from criminals and protecting them."
Harper's eyes widened.
"Derek."
"Yes."
"But he wasn't there eighteen years ago."
"No."
Victoria looked at Gabriel.
"His father was."
Silence.
Harper stared.
"Derek's father?"
Victoria nodded.
"And your father knew."
"My father?"
Victoria said nothing.
Gabriel answered for her.
"Your father was one of the officers involved."
Harper's breath vanished.
"No."
"I'm sorry."
"No."
She backed away.
"That's impossible."
Victoria continued.
"Your mother tried to expose them."
"Then why didn't she?"
"Because they threatened you."
Harper felt tears filling her eyes.
"Me?"
"You were the leverage."
"How did Emma get involved?"
Victoria looked toward Gabriel.
"Because Michael Ashford was investigating the same network."
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
"My brother discovered evidence."
"And Emma?"
"She saw the wrong man."
Harper whispered:
"Who?"
Victoria's eyes filled with fear.
"The police captain."
Harper stopped breathing.
"Captain?"
Victoria nodded.
"Captain Richard Lawson."
Derek's father.
Then Gabriel's phone began vibrating.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A photograph appeared.
Noah.
Alive.
Tied to a chair.
Standing beside him was an older man.
Harper recognized him from an old family photograph.
Her father.
Except her father had supposedly died when she was twelve.
The man on the screen smiled.
"You have something that belongs to me."
Gabriel stared.
"You died eighteen years ago."
The man laughed.
"Everyone thought so."
Harper stepped forward.
"Dad?"
The man looked directly into the camera.
"Hello, Harper."
The call ended.
Harper stood frozen.
Gabriel looked at Victoria.
"How long?"
Victoria answered quietly.
"He has been alive the entire time."
May you like
Then the cellar lights went out.
And someone locked the door from the outside.
Related Stories
