Chapter 8 - THE BETRAYAL
Victor didn't attack.
Instead, he lowered his weapon.
“You deserve the truth.”
Damen didn't trust him.
“Start talking.”
“Your father built Black Meridian.”
“No.”
“He created it as a private network to control the city's illegal economy.”
“Why?”
“Protection.”
“That's not protection.”
Victor laughed.
“That's what power looks like when you don't have enough of it.”
Damen stared at him.
“My father died because he wanted out.”
Victor nodded.
“He tried.”
“And you killed him?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
Victor looked toward Robert.
Robert stepped forward.
“I did.”
Hannah turned.
“What?”
Robert's face was filled with shame.
“Your father wasn't murdered.”
“He was arrested?”
“No.”
“He disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I helped him disappear.”
Damen stared at Robert.
“Why?”
“Because he discovered what Black Meridian had become.”
Robert continued.
“Your father wanted to destroy it.”
“And Victor?”
“Victor wanted to inherit it.”
Damen looked at his uncle.
Victor smiled sadly.
“Your father trusted me.”
“You betrayed him.”
“Yes.”
“And Sophia?”
Victor's face hardened.
“She discovered the truth.”
“So you killed her.”
“No.”
He looked at Hannah.
“She was killed by someone higher than me.”
Damen's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Victor shook his head.
“You aren't ready.”
Damen stepped forward.
“I am.”
A gunshot exploded.
Victor dropped.
Damen caught him.
Blood spread across Victor's shirt.
“Sniper!” Marco shouted.
Everyone scattered.
Damen dragged Victor behind a stone wall.
Victor coughed.
“The person above me…”
He grabbed Damen's jacket.
“Is inside your house.”
“What?”
Victor's eyes shifted toward Hannah.
“Closer than you think.”
Then he died.
Hannah stood frozen.
Damen looked at everyone around them.
Marco.
Margaret.
Robert.
His guards.
Someone inside.
Someone close.
A traitor.
That night, they moved to a safe apartment.
Hannah couldn't sleep.
She stood at the window.
Damen entered.
“You should rest.”
“So should you.”
“I don't sleep much.”
“I noticed.”
Silence.
Hannah turned.
“Why do you care about me?”
Damen didn't answer immediately.
“Because you remind me of Sophia.”
“That's not the whole reason.”
“No.”
“What is it?”
He looked at her.
“Because when I saw those bruises, I remembered what it felt like to lose someone while telling myself there was nothing I could do.”
Hannah's eyes softened.
“You're not responsible for what happened to her.”
“I know that now.”
“And you can't save everyone.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you still trying to save me?”
Damen stepped closer.
“Because you deserve the chance to choose your own life.”
Hannah looked at him.
For a moment, the world outside disappeared.
Then someone knocked.
Marco entered.
“We found the mole.”
Damen turned.
“Who?”
Marco's expression was grim.
“Rebecca Lane.”
Hannah froze.
The nurse from the hospital.
“She was the one who admitted you.”
Hannah remembered the private room.
The dried clothes.
The medication.
The bracelet.
Rebecca had access to everything.
Damen's phone rang.
A video appeared.
Rebecca stood in a warehouse.
Behind her was Hannah's clinic supervisor.
Mrs. Alvarez.
Rebecca looked into the camera.
“I'm sorry, Hannah.”
Hannah whispered:
“No.”
Rebecca continued.
“We tried to keep you away from this.”
“Why?”
“Because Emily asked us to.”
Hannah's heart stopped.
“Emily?”
The camera shifted.
A door opened.
A man entered.
Older.
Gray hair.
Hannah recognized him immediately.
Her father.
Robert.
Except Robert was standing beside her.
The man in the video smiled.
Hannah screamed.
“There are two of them.”
Damen stared.
Two Robert Brooks.
Two men with the same face.
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Robert whispered:
“That isn't me.”
Damen looked at him.
“Who is he?”
May you like
Robert's answer was barely audible.
“My twin.”
