Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
We found Sofia alive.
She had been shot in the shoulder.
Marcus refused to leave her.
Despite everything.
Despite the betrayal.
Despite the secrets.
He stayed beside her hospital bed.
When she woke, she looked at him.
"I thought you hated me."
"I did."
"Do you still?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
Sofia smiled weakly.
"Good."
She turned toward me.
"Emma."
"Yes?"
"I owe you the truth."
She told us everything.
The ledger had been created by my father.
He had discovered that Austin's most powerful people were secretly controlled by a criminal council.
The council had been led by Marcus's father.
But there was another person.
A hidden leader.
Someone above them.
Someone neither family knew existed.
"Who?"
Sofia shook her head.
"We don't know."
Marcus frowned.
"Then why are they after Emma?"
"Because the ledger was never stolen."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"It was hidden."
"Where?"
Sofia looked at me.
"Inside your family."
My stomach dropped.
"Your father divided the ledger into pieces."
"Why?"
"Because he knew someone would come looking."
She reached into her pocket.
A tiny key appeared.
"The first piece is here."
Marcus took it.
"What does it open?"
Sofia smiled.
"Something Emma has had since childhood."
I suddenly remembered.
A necklace.
My mother had given it to me when I was eight.
I always wore it.
The pendant had never opened.
Marcus looked at me.
"Do you have it?"
I touched my neck.
The pendant was there.
We opened it.
Inside was a microfilm.
Daniel, Marcus's attorney, examined it.
"It's encrypted."
"Can you decode it?"
"Eventually."
But before he could begin, the lights went out.
The hospital alarms screamed.
Someone had cut the power.
Marcus pulled me close.
"Stay behind me."
A figure entered the room.
Sofia raised a gun.
The figure removed his mask.
I froze.
It was my father.
Alive.
I couldn't breathe.
"Dad?"
He looked at me.
"I'm sorry."
Marcus immediately aimed his weapon.
"Don't."
My father raised his hands.
"I didn't kill anyone."
"You're supposed to be dead."
"I had to disappear."
"Why?"
He looked at me.
"Because they were going to use you to get to me."
I stepped forward.
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I thought it would keep you safe."
"You married me to Marcus."
"Yes."
"Because of the debt?"
"No."
His eyes filled with regret.
"Because Marcus was the only man powerful enough to protect you."
I looked at Marcus.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The arranged marriage.
The distance.
The silence.
The fear.
My father had not sold me.
He had hidden me.
But there was still one question.
"Who is the hidden leader?"
My father looked at Marcus.
Then at me.
And whispered:
"Your mother."
I laughed.
"My mother died when I was fourteen."
He shook his head.
"That's what everyone was supposed to believe."
Silence.
Then someone fired through the window.
My father fell.
I screamed.
Marcus caught him.
May you like
But before he lost consciousness, he whispered:
"Find her."
