Chapter 8 - The Betrayal Nobody Expected
Nolan held up the photograph.
"Your husband wasn't the hero you think he was, Claire."
I stared at the image.
Daniel stood beside him outside the warehouse.
There was no fear in his expression.
No obvious sign of conflict.
"That's fake," I whispered.
Nolan shrugged.
"Believe whatever helps you sleep."
Vincent stepped forward.
"Where is Elena?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
"Somewhere you can't reach."
Nolan looked at Lucy again.
"She should come with me."
"Over my dead body," I said.
He laughed.
"That's precisely what Daniel said."
Then he made a gesture.
Two men approached.
Grimm charged.
He didn't attack blindly.
He positioned himself between Lucy and the men, forcing them backward.
One raised a metal baton.
Vincent pulled his weapon.
"Drop it!"
The man hesitated.
A gunshot cracked from the far side of the garden.
One of Nolan's guards fell.
Everyone turned.
A figure stepped out from behind the trees.
A woman.
Dark coat.
Short hair.
A scar along her jaw.
Elena.
Vincent stared at her.
For one impossible second, he seemed unable to recognize the woman he had spent six years mourning.
Then she said his name.
"Vincent."
He dropped his gun.
She ran toward him.
He caught her.
They held each other like two people who had forgotten how to breathe.
Nolan looked furious.
"You're supposed to be dead."
Elena stepped away from Vincent.
"So were you, apparently, when I last checked the records."
She held up a small device.
"I have the original recordings. Every transaction. Every forged birth certificate. Every order you gave."
Nolan's expression changed.
"Give me that."
"No."
He raised his gun.
Vincent moved.
But Lucy spoke first.
"Don't hurt her."
Everyone turned.
She was looking at Grimm.
The dog had gone rigid.
Lucy approached him slowly.
"Sammy, it's okay."
Nolan pointed his gun toward her.
"Get the child out of here."
Elena's face changed.
"Don't you dare."
Then she looked at Lucy.
"Sweetheart, do you know who I am?"
Lucy shook her head.
Elena crouched.
"I'm someone who has been looking for you."
I stepped forward.
"Stay away from my daughter."
Elena looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"I know you're her mother. I'm not here to take her."
She reached into her coat and pulled out a small photograph.
It showed two newborn babies lying in hospital bassinets.
One had a tiny silver bracelet.
The other wore a white ribbon.
On the back was a date.
And a name.
Lucy Carter.
I looked at the picture.
Then at Elena.
"Why does one baby have my daughter's name?"
Elena swallowed.
"Because the other baby was never supposed to leave the hospital."
Nolan suddenly laughed.
"Tell her everything, Elena. Tell her what Daniel agreed to."
Elena turned.
"Don't."
"He didn't just investigate the operation," Nolan said. "He helped design it."
I looked at Vincent.
He had gone completely still.
Nolan smiled.
"Ask your husband why he was paid to keep quiet."
Then he fired.
The bullet struck the ground beside Grimm.
May you like
The dog charged.
And in the chaos, Nolan disappeared.
