Chapter 9 - THE CHOICE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
His name was Daniel Brooks.
Robert's identical twin.
And according to Robert, Daniel had been the real architect behind Black Meridian.
“He was always smarter than me,” Robert said.
“And more ruthless,” Margaret added.
Hannah couldn't process it.
“My entire childhood was built on lies.”
Robert nodded.
“I thought lies would keep you safe.”
“They didn't.”
“I know.”
Damen stood at the table.
“Where is Daniel?”
Marco shook his head.
“Warehouse location is abandoned.”
“Then find him.”
“We're trying.”
Hannah stared at the ledger.
“What if he wants me?”
Damen looked at her.
“He does.”
“Why?”
“Because you have the encryption key.”
“No.”
Hannah shook her head.
“He needs me alive.”
Damen understood.
That meant they had leverage.
Hannah took a breath.
“I'll go.”
“No.”
“You need to hear me.”
“I heard you.”
“He wants me.”
“And I'm not giving you to him.”
“You don't understand. This ends when we expose him.”
“It ends when you're safe.”
“You can't protect me forever.”
Damen's expression hardened.
“I can try.”
Hannah stepped closer.
“And what happens afterward?”
He didn't answer.
She whispered:
“What happens to us?”
That question silenced him.
Damen had never allowed himself to imagine an after.
There was always another enemy.
Another threat.
Another debt.
But Hannah had forced him to see something beyond survival.
A life.
A home.
A future.
He touched her face gently.
“I don't know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Live normally.”
Hannah smiled faintly.
“Neither do I.”
Their foreheads touched.
Then the lights went out.
A voice came through the speakers.
Daniel.
“Hello, little Hannah.”
She froze.
Damen reached for his weapon.
“You've spent your entire life believing your father abandoned you.”
Hannah stared into the darkness.
“He didn't.”
Daniel laughed.
“He was simply afraid.”
Robert shouted:
“Daniel!”
A screen illuminated.
Daniel appeared.
He looked almost exactly like Robert.
“I have something you want.”
He turned the camera.
Emily.
Older than Hannah remembered from the photographs.
Alive.
Hannah stopped breathing.
“No.”
Damen stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Emily looked directly at the camera.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Hannah…”
Hannah collapsed into a chair.
“My sister.”
Emily whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel smiled.
“She survived.”
Robert's face broke.
“Where is she?”
Daniel ignored him.
“Bring me the bracelet.”
Damen stepped forward.
“You'll never leave this city alive.”
Daniel smiled.
“You misunderstand.”
He looked at Hannah.
“I don't need to leave.”
The screen went black.
Then every phone in the room received the same message.
MIDNIGHT. UNION STATION. COME ALONE.
Hannah stood.
“I'll go.”
Damen caught her wrist.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“If Emily is alive, I have to.”
“I won't let you go alone.”
“You won't have to.”
Damen's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Hannah pulled something from her pocket.
A second phone.
“I recorded everything Daniel said.”
Marco stared.
Damen understood.
She had been planning ahead.
Hannah looked at him.
“You taught me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don't trust what people show you.”
Damen almost smiled.
“Good.”
At midnight, Hannah entered Union Station.
She carried the bracelet.
Damen was nowhere visible.
Neither was Marco.
She walked beneath the enormous clock.
“Daniel?”
A voice answered.
“Right here.”
Daniel stepped from the crowd.
Hannah's heart stopped.
He looked exactly like her father.
But his eyes were cold.
“You came.”
“I want Emily.”
Daniel smiled.
“You always were loyal.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Prove it.”
He lifted his phone.
A live video appeared.
Emily sat in a room.
She looked frightened.
“Hannah, don't give him the bracelet.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Enough.”
The screen went black.
Hannah smiled.
Daniel frowned.
“You think you're clever.”
“No.”
She looked behind him.
“I'm just not alone.”
Damen stepped from the shadows.
Daniel reached for his weapon.
Marco appeared behind him.
Police lights flashed outside.
Daniel froze.
Hannah had already sent the recording to federal investigators.
Daniel laughed.
“You think the police will save you?”
“No.”
Hannah looked at him.
“I think the truth will.”
Daniel's face hardened.
Then he reached for his gun.
Damen moved first.
The weapon hit the floor.
Marco restrained Daniel.
Federal agents stormed the station.
For the first time in decades, Black Meridian began collapsing.
But Daniel smiled.
“You haven't won.”
Damen looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because your biggest enemy isn't me.”
Daniel glanced toward Hannah.
“It's the person she trusts most.”
Hannah's blood went cold.
She turned.
May you like
And saw Robert holding a gun.
Pointed directly at Damen.
