Chapter 12 - THE MEMORY LILY BURIED
Lily began shaking.
Lucas forgot Vanessa, the fire, and the gunshots.
He crossed the room and knelt before his daughter.
“You were seven years old. Nothing that happened was your fault.”
Lily pressed both hands against her head.
“Grandpa came to the kitchen.”
Edward had visited the house the day Rachel died.
Lucas had been told his father was already in Portugal.
“He gave me a little bottle,” Lily continued. “He said it was medicine for Mom.”
Lucas’s heart broke.
“He told me she would feel better if I put it in her tea.”
Vanessa laughed from the floor.
“Rachel drank it because Lily made it.”
Lucas nearly crossed the room and struck her.
Grant stopped him.
“That’s what she wants.”
Lily looked at Vanessa.
“You locked me in the bathroom because you knew I remembered.”
Vanessa’s smile faded.
“I locked you in there because you wouldn’t stop searching.”
“You were scared of me.”
For the first time, Vanessa looked unsettled by the child.
Lily stepped closer.
“You should be.”
Agents took Vanessa away.
Maria was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.
Lucas and Grant followed Edward and Cole toward the landing strip.
Smoke covered the mountain road.
At the top, a private jet waited with its engines running.
Cole held a wounded federal agent near the hangar.
Edward carried a metal case containing cash, passports, and the last original company ledgers.
“You’re surrounded!” Grant shouted.
Edward used the agent as a shield.
“Then give me a vehicle.”
Lucas stepped into the open.
“Let him go. Take me.”
Edward looked almost proud.
“There’s the son I tried to build.”
“You never built me.”
“I gave you your name.”
“You turned it into something I’m ashamed to carry.”
Edward’s face hardened.
Cole dragged the hostage toward a waiting SUV.
Grant’s sniper had no clear shot.
Lucas moved closer.
“Daniel knew you were alive.”
“He lacked the strength to join me.”
“He had the strength to stand against you.”
Edward raised his weapon.
Before he could fire, Vanessa appeared behind the agents.
She had escaped during the evacuation.
She held a stolen pistol.
“Edward!”
Everyone turned.
Vanessa aimed at the man she had served for years.
“You promised I would have Lucas.”
Edward laughed.
“You were useful. Don’t confuse that with being valuable.”
Vanessa’s face twisted.
She fired.
The bullet struck Edward in the shoulder.
Cole shoved the hostage away and shot Vanessa.
She fell beside the runway.
Grant’s team opened fire on Cole’s position.
Lucas rushed toward Edward.
May you like
But Edward had already climbed into the SUV.
He drove straight toward the cliff road—with Lily hidden in the back seat.
