Chapter 9 - Gabriel's finger stayed against the trigger.His grandfather smiled.
“Put it down.”
Gabriel's voice was barely controlled.
“You died.”
“I survived.”
“You're the founder.”
The old man smiled.
“Now you're learning.”
Harper stood behind Gabriel.
She whispered:
“Who is he?”
Gabriel didn't answer.
The old man looked at her.
“You've grown.”
Harper felt a chill.
“You know me.”
“I knew your mother.”
“Evelyn Lawson?”
He nodded.
“And I knew James Queen.”
Harper stared.
“Did you kill him?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“You'll learn.”
Gabriel stepped forward.
“Enough.”
The old man laughed.
“You sound like your father.”
“I am nothing like him.”
“That remains to be seen.”
Gabriel raised his weapon.
“You've been running Black Wolf.”
“Running it?”
The old man smiled.
“No. I built it.”
“Why?”
“To protect the family.”
“You murdered them.”
“I removed threats.”
“You killed my mother.”
“No.”
The old man's eyes moved toward Harper.
“She did.”
Gabriel froze.
“What?”
“Your mother betrayed me.”
Harper looked between them.
“Why?”
The old man ignored her.
He walked toward the glass case.
“You opened the vault.”
Gabriel's weapon followed him.
“Yes.”
“Then you know.”
“We know nothing.”
The old man stopped.
“You know enough.”
He looked at Harper.
“She was supposed to die twenty years ago.”
Harper's stomach turned.
“Why?”
“Because your mother gave birth to something that could destroy Black Wolf.”
“What?”
“Evidence.”
He pointed at her.
“You were born carrying it.”
Harper's voice trembled.
“I'm not a vault.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Your memory is.”
She stared.
“What does that mean?”
“Your mother had a method.”
“What method?”
“She hid information in your childhood memories.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“That's impossible.”
“Your father believed she was paranoid.”
“Then why was she murdered?”
“Because she wasn't.”
The old man approached Harper.
She stepped back.
Gabriel moved between them.
“Don't touch her.”
The old man smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The reason your father failed.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You're protecting her.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“She is innocent.”
“No one is innocent.”
Harper stepped forward.
“Why did you take my mother?”
“Because she knew the truth.”
“Which was?”
“That Derek Lawson was never supposed to exist.”
Harper froze.
Gabriel turned.
“Explain.”
“Derek was created.”
“What does that mean?”
“A name. A face. A badge.”
Harper whispered:
“An identity.”
The old man nodded.
“He was placed inside Precinct 12.”
“To spy on James.”
“Yes.”
“Then Derek wasn't his real name.”
“No.”
“What's his real name?”
The old man looked at Harper.
“Adrian Lawson.”
Gabriel went still.
“Adrian.”
He looked at Harper.
“Your biological father.”
Harper's mind went blank.
The old man continued.
“Rachel and James adopted you after Evelyn died.”
Harper looked at Gabriel.
“So Derek is my father?”
“No,” the old man said.
Harper turned.
“Then what are you saying?”
“He is not Derek Lawson.”
The old man smiled.
“He is the son of Adrian Lawson.”
Harper stared.
“Then who is my father?”
The old man looked at Gabriel.
“Your father was Adrian Ashford.”
The room went silent.
Gabriel's eyes widened.
“But you said…”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“To keep Adrian's daughter alive.”
Harper felt tears burn.
“So I am an Ashford.”
“Yes.”
“Not Gabriel's sister.”
The old man smiled.
“No.”
She stared at Gabriel.
“Then what am I?”
The old man's answer was soft.
“You are the last heir to Black Wolf.”
Before Harper could respond, a gunshot exploded.
The old man jerked.
Blood spread across his chest.
Gabriel fired toward the darkness.
“GET DOWN!”
Another shot.
The old man's knees buckled.
He fell.
Harper screamed.
Victor rushed in.
“Boss!”
Gabriel knelt beside his grandfather.
“Who shot him?”
No answer.
The old man coughed.
He grabbed Gabriel's coat.
“Find…”
His eyes moved toward Harper.
“…the hospital.”
“What hospital?”
He whispered one final sentence.
“Where you were born.”
Then he died.
The vault fell silent.
Harper's breathing shook.
Gabriel looked at her.
“There's one hospital that matches the date.”
“Which one?”
“St. Mary's.”
Harper stared.
“My father died there.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the birth records.
“The hospital burned nine years ago.”
“Then how can there be records?”
Gabriel's phone buzzed.
A message.
One line.
COME TO ST. MARY'S BEFORE MIDNIGHT. BRING HARPER.
Gabriel looked at the clock.
11:17 PM.
Thirty-eight minutes.
Then another message appeared.
AND COME WITHOUT YOUR MEN.
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“We're going.”
Harper nodded.
“But this time…”
She looked toward the body of the man who had controlled Black Wolf for decades.
“…we don't know who we're walking into.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Yes.”
May you like
Then he added quietly:
“And I think they know something about you that even your father didn't.”
Related Stories
