Chapter 4 - The Man He Trusted Most Had Already Betrayed Him
The woman wasn’t Lily’s mother.
That became clear twenty minutes later when Adrian enhanced the bank footage.
She was wearing prosthetics.
The resemblance had been intentional.
Someone wanted Lily emotionally destabilized.
“It worked,” Lily said.
Damian looked at her.
“What?”
“They wanted me scared and confused.”
“Are you?”
“Terrified.”
He seemed surprised by the admission.
Lily met his eyes.
“Being afraid doesn’t mean I stop thinking.”
Something changed between them.
Respect, perhaps.
The encrypted drive had been stolen.
But Lily remembered something Evan had taught her.
Never create one copy of anything powerful enough to make someone dangerous.
There was another copy.
Inside an old camera.
At Lily’s studio.
They went after midnight.
The studio was dark.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
Lily removed an antique film camera from a shelf and opened the battery compartment.
A tiny drive fell into her palm.
Damian stared.
“Eleven years?”
“Eleven years.”
“Impressive.”
“Paranoid.”
“Sometimes they’re the same thing.”
They connected the drive.
Hundreds of photographs appeared.
Damian studied them.
Then stopped.
“There.”
His father.
Standing with Marcus.
But Lily noticed something Damian didn’t.
“Zoom in.”
Behind the two men was a mirror.
Reflected inside it was another man.
Younger.
Watching them.
Adrian.
Damian went silent.
“That can’t be.”
Lily checked the metadata.
“It can.”
Damian turned toward Adrian.
The room seemed to shrink.
“You were there.”
Adrian’s face changed.
Not guilt.
Sadness.
“Yes.”
Damian moved toward him.
“You told me you’d never met Marcus before working for me.”
“I lied.”
Damian struck him.
Adrian hit the wall.
Lily stepped between them.
“Stop!”
Damian stared at her.
“He betrayed me.”
“Then find out why.”
Adrian wiped blood from his mouth.
“Your father recruited me.”
Damian froze.
“To do what?”
“Get witnesses out.”
Silence.
Adrian looked at Lily.
“Evan was one of them.”
Lily’s breath caught.
“You saved my brother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know anymore.”
Damian stared at Adrian.
“Why keep this from me?”
“Your father ordered me to.”
“He’s dead.”
“Yes.”
“Eight years.”
“Yes.”
Damian’s voice lowered.
“And you continued lying.”
Adrian nodded.
“Because someone close to you was feeding Marcus information.”
“Who?”
“I never found proof.”
Damian looked toward the computer.
Lily suddenly noticed another photograph.
Damian’s father.
Marcus.
Adrian.
And behind them—
a man Lily had seen earlier that evening.
One of Damian’s senior security officers.
Lily pointed.
“Him.”
Damian stared.
“Victor.”
Adrian’s expression darkened.
Damian grabbed his phone.
Too late.
An explosion shattered the studio windows.
Lily screamed as Damian pulled her to the floor.
Smoke filled the room.
Gunfire followed.
Damian covered her with his body.
Adrian fired toward the doorway.
“Back exit!”
They ran.
Lily’s ears rang.
Glass crunched beneath her boots.
Damian kept one hand around hers.
They reached the alley.
A car waited.
Victor stood beside it.
Damian stopped.
Victor smiled.
“You should have brought the card.”
Then the rear door opened.
Evan stepped out.
Lily stared at her brother.
Alive.
Untied.
Uninjured.
Standing beside the man who had just tried to kill them.
Evan looked directly at her.
May you like
And said the words that broke her heart.
“You were never supposed to get involved, Lily.”
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