Chapter 5 - The Enemy Who Knew My Name
Sebastian moved in front of me.
Instantly.
No command.
No hesitation.
His body became a barrier between Thomas Ward and me.
The old man noticed.
“Interesting.”
“What?” Sebastian asked.
“I was wondering when you would inherit your father’s weakness.”
“If you mean protecting people—”
“I mean loving them.”
My heartbeat stumbled.
Sebastian’s posture changed almost imperceptibly.
Thomas smiled.
“There it is.”
Elena whispered, “Don’t listen to him.”
Thomas’s gaze moved toward her.
“You were always sentimental too.”
Security emerged around us.
Sebastian’s men.
Thomas looked unimpressed.
“If I intended violence, Sebastian, you wouldn’t have seen me coming.”
“Try.”
“Still theatrical.”
He handed Sebastian a card.
“One address.”
“What is it?”
“The truth about Daniel Hayes.”
My biological father.
“Why give it to us?” I asked.
Thomas looked at me.
“Because your mother has spent twelve years telling herself I am the monster.”
“You are.”
“Perhaps.”
He turned away.
“But monsters are rarely the only liars in the room.”
Elena shouted after him.
“Thomas.”
He stopped.
“You killed Richard.”
Sebastian’s father.
Thomas looked back.
“No.”
Elena froze.
Thomas pointed toward Mara.
“She did.”
Nobody spoke.
Mara’s face became pale.
Sebastian turned slowly.
Thomas disappeared toward the parking lot while every person at the terminal seemed too stunned to follow him.
“Mara?” Sebastian asked.
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then she ran.
She made it only ten feet.
Sebastian’s security stopped her.
“Let go of me!”
Sebastian walked toward her.
“Did you kill my father?”
“No.”
“Then why run?”
“Because Thomas wants me dead.”
“Get in line.”
Mara broke.
“I didn’t kill Richard. I moved the money that paid the men who did.”
Sebastian’s expression became terrifyingly empty.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian had my daughter.”
Sebastian paused.
Mara had never mentioned a daughter.
“She was nineteen,” Mara continued. “Adrian threatened to kill her. Richard knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t tell him.”
“What happened to her?”
“Adrian killed her anyway.”
The anguish in her face made even Sebastian hesitate.
Mara wiped tears away.
“I’ve spent eleven years helping you because I owed your father a life I couldn’t return.”
“So you knew Thomas was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And Elena?”
“I helped her disappear.”
My mother stared at Mara.
“You told me Thomas was dead.”
“I thought he was.”
Every answer created two more questions.
Back at the estate, Sebastian locked himself in his study.
I gave him three hours.
Then I entered without knocking.
He sat alone in darkness.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
“I tried.”
“Me too.”
I sat opposite him.
“Do you believe Mara?”
“Parts.”
“Which?”
“That she helped kill my father.”
I swallowed.
“You won’t hurt her.”
It was not a question.
His eyes lifted.
“Why are you certain?”
“Because if you wanted revenge, you’d already have taken it.”
“That’s an optimistic interpretation.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You’re angry because you understand why she did it.”
Sebastian looked away.
“You think you know me.”
“I think you want people to believe you’re worse than you are.”
“That belief keeps people obedient.”
“Maybe that’s why you keep everyone alone.”
His gaze returned to mine.
The air between us changed.
“What happened last night,” I said carefully, “wasn’t your mistake.”
His jaw tightened.
“I should have known.”
“How?”
“You were nervous.”
“I’m nervous around you every day.”
“That is not reassuring.”
Despite myself, I laughed.
So did he.
Barely.
But enough.
Then he reached across the desk and took my hand.
No demand.
No seduction.
Just warmth.
“I am sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not understanding what the night meant to you.”
Tears burned unexpectedly.
“It meant something to you too.”
His silence answered.
Maybe more than words could.
The next morning, we went to the address Thomas provided.
It was an abandoned records warehouse in Brooklyn.
Inside, beneath layers of dust, we discovered boxes labeled with dates from my childhood.
Sebastian opened one.
Photographs.
Hundreds.
Me at school.
Me at seventeen.
Me at college.
Me entering my first apartment.
Someone had watched me for years.
“What the hell?”
Sebastian opened another box.
More photographs.
Then he stopped.
At the bottom was a newspaper clipping.
A headline about Daniel Hayes.
Federal Investigator Missing.
Attached was a handwritten note.
Daniel is alive.
My legs weakened.
Sebastian looked toward the end of the warehouse.
A light had turned on.
Someone sat in a chair.
A man in his late fifties.
Gray hair.
Tired face.
My eyes filled.
He stood.
“Valerie?”
I couldn’t move.
He smiled sadly.
“You have your mother’s eyes.”
Elena stood behind me.
Her breath broke.
“Daniel.”
The man I had believed dead my entire life looked at her.
Then at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I whispered, “You’re my father?”
“Yes.”
I stepped forward.
Sebastian remained close behind.
Daniel reached into his coat.
Sebastian’s men immediately reacted.
“Easy,” Daniel said.
He removed only a photograph.
He handed it to me.
Three people.
Daniel.
Elena.
And Thomas Ward.
All smiling together.
“Before you decide who the enemy is,” Daniel said, “you need to know something.”
He pointed at Thomas.
“Thomas Ward saved my life.”
May you like
Then Daniel pointed to Elena.
“And she’s the reason Sebastian’s father died.”
