Chapter 9 - THE ENEMY BEHIND THE NAME
The three men entered the building without rushing.
That scared me more than if they had run.
Confident people didn’t hurry.
They believed they owned the outcome.
Thomas moved beside me.
“You still have your skills?”
I looked at him.
“I never lost them.”
Lily heard that.
And for the first time…
She looked at me differently.
Not with fear.
With understanding.
The door opened.
A tall man walked inside.
Black coat.
Cold expression.
“Agent Walker.”
I stared at him.
“You know me.”
He smiled.
“Everyone knows you.”
“Who are you?”
He removed his gloves.
“David Harrington.”
My eyes narrowed.
Richard’s father.
The man who disappeared fifteen years ago.
The man who was supposed to be gone.
Lily whispered:
“That’s his father?”
David looked at her.
“Hello, Lily.”
She stepped back.
“You know me?”
He smiled.
“I knew you before you knew yourself.”
The words made my blood run cold.
“What does that mean?”
David looked at me.
“You really thought Richard married your daughter because he loved her?”
Lily’s face changed.
“Stop.”
David ignored her.
“Your daughter was the closest person to you.”
I stepped forward.
“You used her.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“We used your attachment to her.”
My anger exploded.
“You stay away from her.”
David laughed.
“There he is.”
“What?”
“The man who destroyed an entire organization because someone threatened his family.”
I froze.
He knew.
He knew everything.
David stepped closer.
“Fifteen years ago, you took something from us.”
“What?”
“Evidence.”
Silence.
“The kind of evidence that could put powerful people away forever.”
I looked at Thomas.
Then back at David.
“You’ve been searching for it.”
“Yes.”
“And Richard married Lily to find it.”
David smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Lily looked at me.
“Dad…”
I turned toward her.
She looked broken.
“I was just a target?”
I immediately shook my head.
“No.”
David answered before me.
“Yes.”
My eyes locked onto him.
“You made one mistake.”
David raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You underestimated my daughter.”
Lily looked at me.
I continued.
“She survived everything you put her through.”
David’s smile faded.
Because he realized something.
Lily was no longer afraid.
She stood up.
“You’re right about one thing.”
Everyone looked at her.
“I was scared.”
Her voice became stronger.
“But I’m not anymore.”
David stared.
Lily picked up the phone.
The recording.
“The truth is already out.”
For the first time…
David Harrington looked worried.
He turned toward the door.
But it was too late.
Outside…
Sirens filled the street.
Not local police.
Different vehicles.
Federal.
David looked at me.
“You called them?”
I looked at Lily.
“No.”
Then I smiled.
“She did.”
Lily held the phone tightly.
And David finally understood.
The daughter he tried to break…
May you like
Was the person who would bring him down.
TO BE CONTINUED…
