Chapter 7 - THE FATHER WHO CHOSE THE EMPIRE
Khloe watched the recording again.
And again.
Each time, the same words came.
I am.
Her father had ordered her mother's death.
The man who had taught her to ride a bicycle.
The man who had sat beside her hospital bed when she broke her arm.
The man who had promised that nobody would ever hurt her.
She turned toward Gabriel.
“Is it true?”
He looked exhausted.
“I don't know what happened between your parents.”
“But you knew something.”
Gabriel rubbed his jaw.
“Your father told me Evelyn was dead. He said she had been killed by Caldwell's men. I believed him.”
“And you never questioned it?”
“I was busy fighting a war.”
Khloe stepped away.
“Everybody has an excuse.”
She left the room.
Gabriel didn't follow.
For the next several hours, Khloe sat alone in the motel parking lot.
She thought about her childhood.
Her mother singing while making breakfast.
Her father checking the locks at night.
The strange arguments that stopped whenever she entered the room.
The last time she had seen Evelyn.
Her mother had hugged her longer than usual.
She had whispered, “Never let anyone convince you that love means obedience.”
At the time, Khloe had thought it was advice about relationships.
Now she understood it differently.
Gabriel eventually approached.
He carried two cups of coffee.
“Vincent has contacted Caldwell.”
Khloe didn't look at him.
“What does he want?”
“The ledger.”
“Then give it to him.”
“I can't.”
“Why? Because it will expose your empire?”
“Because it contains evidence of crimes that will put hundreds of people in danger. Some are guilty. Some are not. The ledger also identifies witnesses who were promised protection.”
Khloe turned.
“And what about my mother?”
Gabriel hesitated.
“There's a possibility she's alive.”
Khloe stood so quickly that the coffee spilled.
“What?”
“Caldwell sent the photograph. But the image could be old.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't want to give you false hope.”
She stared at him.
“False hope is still better than the lie I've been living.”
Gabriel handed her another document.
It was a transfer record from a private medical facility in upstate New York.
The patient was listed under an alias.
But the date of birth matched Evelyn Harper.
The admission date was eight months earlier.
Khloe's hands shook.
“She survived.”
“Possibly.”
“Where is she?”
“The facility closed six months ago. The patient records were transferred to a private clinic in Connecticut.”
Khloe took the paper.
“We're going.”
Gabriel nodded.
But before they could leave, a call came through.
It was Jenna.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Khloe, listen to me. My father knows about the flash drive. He has Vincent. He's bringing him to the old waterfront warehouse.”
“Why are you calling me?”
“Because I found something in my father's office.”
“What?”
“Your mother isn't the only person he kept alive.”
Khloe froze.
“Who else?”
Jenna began crying.
“Your father.”
The call ended.
Gabriel immediately grabbed his jacket.
“It's a trap.”
“Maybe.”
“Khloe—”
“I'm going.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
“Then we go together.”
The warehouse stood beside the East River.
Rain hammered the metal roof.
Inside, Vincent was tied to a chair.
Arthur Caldwell stood behind him.
Jenna waited near the wall, her face bruised.
And beside Caldwell stood a man Khloe had believed dead for eight months.
Daniel Harper.
Her father.
Alive.
His eyes found hers.
“Khloe.”
She couldn't move.
He smiled sadly.
“You look just like your mother.”
Then Arthur Caldwell raised his pistol.
May you like
“Family reunion's over.”
And he aimed it at Gabriel.
