Chapter 13 - THE LAST GAME

The sound of the gunshot echoed through the warehouse.

For a second, everything stopped.

My ears rang.

My heart felt like it had stopped beating.

Then I heard the only sound that mattered.

“DADDY!”

Sophie.

Alive.

I ran toward her voice.

“Stay away from her!”

Michael’s voice cut through the darkness.

I froze.

A small light turned on.

And there he was.

Standing beside Sophie.

My daughter was sitting in a chair, crying, her hands tied loosely in front of her.

The sight nearly destroyed me.

“Let her go.”

My voice was shaking.

Not from fear.

From rage.

Michael smiled.

“You finally understand.”

“Understand what?”

“What it feels like to be powerless.”

I stared at him.

“You kidnapped a five-year-old child to prove a point?”

He looked offended.

“I brought my granddaughter back to her family.”

I felt sick.

“She is not yours.”

His expression hardened.

“She is a Carter.”

“No.”

I stepped forward.

“She is Sophie.”

For the first time, my father looked confused.

Because he didn’t understand.

He had spent his entire life believing people were possessions.

Names.

Bloodlines.

Tools.

But Sophie was a person.

A child.

My child.

Michael shook his head.

“You became weak.”

I laughed quietly.

“No.”

I looked at Sophie.

“You just never understood love.”

His face changed.

A small crack appeared in his confidence.

Then Rachel stepped forward.

“Michael, stop.”

He looked at her.

“You’re the reason this failed.”

Rachel flinched.

“No.”

She looked at me.

“I was wrong.”

Michael laughed.

“Now you regret it?”

Rachel’s eyes filled with tears.

“I was scared.”

“You were useful.”

Those words hit her.

Because they confirmed what she already knew.

She was never his partner.

She was another person he controlled.

Michael walked toward me.

“You know what your problem always was?”

I didn’t answer.

“You cared too much.”

I stared at him.

“That’s my strength.”

He smiled.

“No.”

He pointed at Sophie.

“That is your weakness.”

The moment he said it…

Something inside me snapped.

Not anger.

Not violence.

Clarity.

He expected me to become him.

To lose control.

To make a mistake.

But I wouldn’t.

Not with Sophie watching.

Not ever again.

I lowered my voice.

“You want me angry.”

Michael stopped.

“You want me to attack you.”

Silence.

“Because then you can tell everyone I’m dangerous.”

His smile faded.

I continued.

“You planned everything.”

The warehouse became quiet.

“You recorded Rachel.”

“You manipulated Jason.”

“You created fake evidence.”

“You made everyone believe I was the problem.”

Michael stared at me.

And I saw it.

The moment he realized…

He had lost.

Because his biggest mistake was thinking I was still the scared seventeen-year-old boy he abandoned.

I wasn’t.

I was a father.

And fathers don’t give up.

A siren sounded in the distance.

Michael’s eyes changed.

“What did you do?”

I smiled.

“I didn’t come here alone.”

His face turned pale.

Because while he was busy controlling the room…

I had been recording everything.

Every word.

Every confession.

Michael grabbed Sophie.

“Don’t move!”

The police rushed inside.

Everything happened at once.

Officers shouted.

Rachel screamed.

Sophie cried.

And Michael finally realized something.

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