Chapter 5 - The video stopped.Nobody moved.
Harper stared at the screen.
Gabriel's face had become a mask.
“Play it again.”
Victor obeyed.
James Queen appeared.
“If you're watching this, my daughter is probably with Gabriel.”
Harper's eyes stayed fixed on him.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
James looked terrified.
“Do not trust anyone named Ashford.”
The recording ended.
Gabriel stared at the screen.
Harper whispered, “Your mother?”
“My mother died six months after my father.”
Harper looked at him.
“Did she know mine?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She worked with him.”
Harper felt sick.
“You said Black Wolf belonged to your father.”
“It did.”
“And my father was involved.”
“Yes.”
“Then why would he warn me about your mother?”
Gabriel didn't answer.
Victor looked up from his tablet.
“Because she wasn't loyal.”
Everyone turned.
“What did you find?”
“I've been pulling old records.”
He rotated the screen.
A photograph appeared.
Gabriel's mother.
Standing beside Derek Lawson.
Harper stared.
“When was this taken?”
“Eight months before your father's death.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
“Police training facility.”
Harper studied the photograph.
Then she noticed something.
A necklace.
A black wolf.
She pointed.
“That's the same symbol.”
Gabriel nodded.
Victor brought up another record.
“There's more.”
Derek's father had been a detective.
Derek had joined Precinct 12.
His career had advanced unusually quickly.
Too quickly.
Gabriel looked at the screen.
“Who signed his first promotion?”
Victor hesitated.
“Your mother.”
Silence.
Harper took a step back.
“No.”
Gabriel's eyes darkened.
“My mother was dead by then.”
Victor nodded.
“Exactly.”
Harper looked at Gabriel.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone forged her signature.”
“Who?”
Victor opened another file.
“We don't know.”
Gabriel's phone rang.
He answered.
“Talk.”
The caller spoke.
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Are you sure?”
A pause.
“Send it.”
He hung up.
“What happened?” Harper asked.
Gabriel looked at her.
“We found Noah.”
Her heart leapt.
“Where?”
“An abandoned church in South Boston.”
“We go now.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“It's a trap.”
“I don't care.”
“I do.”
“My brother is there.”
“I know.”
“Then take me.”
“No.”
She stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because Derek expects you.”
“Exactly.”
Gabriel looked at Victor.
“Get the team ready.”
Harper stepped toward him.
“I am going.”
“No.”
“I know the church.”
Gabriel stopped.
“What?”
“My father took me there when I was little.”
She swallowed.
“There was a basement.”
Gabriel studied her.
“What was inside?”
“I don't remember.”
“Try.”
Harper closed her eyes.
A memory surfaced.
Her father holding her hand.
A heavy wooden door.
A metal wolf carved into the wall.
A voice.
Derek.
She opened her eyes.
“I remember.”
Gabriel's expression changed.
“What?”
“He was there.”
“Derek?”
“Yes.”
“How old were you?”
“Maybe seven.”
Gabriel stared.
“Then Derek knew your father long before he joined the police.”
Harper nodded slowly.
“And he knew me.”
Gabriel looked away.
He understood what that meant.
Derek hadn't chosen Harper three years ago.
He had been waiting for her.
The team left ten minutes later.
Two SUVs.
Six armed men.
Harper rode beside Gabriel.
Nobody spoke.
Rain hammered the windows.
When they reached the church, it looked abandoned.
No cars.
No lights.
No movement.
Gabriel raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
Victor whispered, “Too quiet.”
Harper stared at the church.
“I know where Noah is.”
“How?”
She pointed.
“Bell tower.”
Gabriel frowned.
“There is no access from outside.”
“There is.”
She opened the car door.
Gabriel caught her wrist.
“No.”
“My brother is there.”
“Then you're staying behind me.”
They entered.
The church smelled of dust and damp stone.
Harper led them through the nave.
Past the broken pews.
Behind the altar.
A narrow stairwell appeared.
Gabriel looked at her.
“You remembered this.”
She nodded.
They descended.
At the bottom was a steel door.
The wolf symbol was carved into it.
Gabriel tried the handle.
Locked.
Harper took out the key.
His eyes widened.
“No.”
She inserted it.
The door opened.
A single light hung from the ceiling.
A chair sat in the center.
Noah was tied to it.
“NOAH!”
Harper ran.
Gabriel caught her before she reached him.
“Wait.”
A red laser dot appeared on Noah's forehead.
Harper froze.
A voice came from the shadows.
“You came.”
Derek Lawson stepped into the light.
He wasn't alone.
Four armed officers stood behind him.
Harper stared at him.
“You're a monster.”
Derek smiled.
“That's what your father used to call me.”
Gabriel raised his gun.
Derek laughed.
“Lower it, Ashford.”
Gabriel didn't.
Derek pointed at Harper.
“One move, and your maid dies.”
Harper looked at Gabriel.
Something in Derek's eyes made her stomach turn.
Then Derek said quietly:
“You want to know what your father hid?”
He looked at Harper.
“He hid the truth about your birth.”
Harper went completely still.
Derek smiled.
“You aren't James Queen's daughter.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
May you like
Derek's next words shattered the room.
“You are Gabriel Ashford's sister.”
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