Chapter 13 - A Traitor at the Table
The bullet had struck Daniel's side.
Not his heart.
Paramedics rushed him into surgery.
Vale escaped during the confusion.
Someone had opened a rear security gate.
Only four people knew the federal perimeter.
Evelyn.
Nolan.
Jack.
Carlos.
A traitor remained.
Again.
Lena refused to start accusing people blindly.
That was what Vale wanted.
Instead she examined evidence.
Security footage showed the gate opening remotely.
The authorization came from Nolan's credentials.
Nolan insisted he hadn't done it.
Lena believed him.
Not emotionally.
Logically.
The access occurred while Nolan was visible on body-camera footage elsewhere.
His credentials had been cloned.
Who had access?
A federal technician assigned by Evelyn.
They found him attempting to leave town.
He confessed.
Vale had paid him.
No betrayal from the family.
Just another purchased stranger.
Lena almost felt relieved.
Daniel woke the next morning.
She sat beside him.
“You got shot.”
“So I've been told.”
“You're not allowed to die.”
“I'll update my schedule.”
She laughed.
Then cried.
Daniel reached for her hand.
“I’m sorry.”
“For getting shot?”
“For seventeen years.”
Lena looked at him.
“I don't forgive everything.”
“You shouldn't.”
“But I want time.”
His eyes filled.
“So do I.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Then stay.”
“I will.”
May you like
For the first time, Daniel Harper promised not to disappear.
And Lena believed him.
